China penalizes illegal stocks operations

BEIJING - China's securities regulator said Friday that it had punished individuals involved in six cases of stock market violations.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) decided to impose total fines of 67 million yuan ($10.4 million) on six major shareholders for illegal share-holding reduction and illegal short-term trading, said Zhang Xiaojun, spokesman of the CSRC.

The five cases of illegal share-holding reduction involved a total of 1.74 billion yuan, and the illegal short-term trading profiteered by 1.19 million yuan.

The commission will continue to crack down on violations in the securities market to protect investors' interests, Zhang said.