By Suman Varandani - Fang Fang, former CEO of J P Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) investment banking operations in China, was arrested by Hong Kong’s anti-graft agency and could face legal charges in connection with the bank’s hiring practices, Beijing-based news outlet Caixin said Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.
While it is not clear when Fang was taken in for questioning, he has been released on bail and barred from leaving the country, Caixin reported, adding that the arrest could be linked to the practice of hiring of top Chinese officials' children in order to secure business for the bank in the region.
The 48-year-old banker resigned from the New York-based company in March, and anti-corruption officials had searched Fang’s office after his resignation, Bloomberg reported at the time, and the agency had seized computer records and documents as part of a confidential investigation.
According to Caixin, Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption, which is believed to have ordered the arrest, did not comment on the case, while JPMorgan’s Hong Kong-based spokesperson also declined to comment on the arrest.
Fang joined JPMorgan in August 2001 and became head of JPMorgan’s China-based investment banking business in 2007. In 2009, he was made vice chairman for investment banking in Asia. His departure from the company came amid a U.S. investigation into the bank’s hiring practices.