Senior securities official under investigation

A senior official at China's securities watchdog is being investigated by the country's top anti-graft body, signaling the widened government crackdown on corruption in the financial industry.

Yao Gang, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is under investigation for "serious violations of discipline", the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China announced in a statement on its website on Friday evening.

Yao, 53, is by far the highest-ranked securities official under investigation as Beijing extends its anti-corruption campaign into the financial industry.