One of the most prominent stock traders in China has been arrested for malpractice. Xu Xiang, general manager and one of the owners of Zexi Investment, made a fortune in the Chinese stock market even during the period that it was struggling. On Sunday morning, Xu was arrested in spectacular fashion by authorities over to suspicions of insider trading.

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The New York Times reported that the police guarded the 35 kilometer long Hangzhou Bridge just to arrest Xu.

Chinese regulators are yet provide detailed information about Xu's arrest and the charges leveled against him.

The party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has started looking into the financial dealings of financial firms as the government expands its probe of corrupt officials.

Since Chinese President Xi Jinping started his tenure two years ago, more than a 100,000 officials and party members have been apprehended for corruption.

Authorities are now focusing the anti-graft campaign on financial firms due to the recent crash of the country's stock market. Chinese stock regulators have since voiced suspicion that the country's stock prices have been fluctuating due insider and irregular trading.

Two months ago, a Chinese stock market official was caught by his superiors for allegedly engaging in insider trading and corruption. An official working for the Securities Regulatory Commission is also being probed by the disciplinary commission for similar charges.

As head of the Zexi Investment fund, Xu's stock trading ways are nothing short of legendary. His ability to pick the right stocks at the right moment and his campaign for the rights of stockholders earned him various monickers including 'China's Icahn' and 'China's Warren Buffet'. Many in the industry also call him 'Big Xu.'

Suspicions were aroused more than a month ago after a social media post accused Zexi of price manipulation involving share prices of a clothes retail store despite its inability to make a profit.

The post said Xu somehow managed to convinced Citic Securities to purchase the shares of the clothes retailer in order to keep the price from falling.

Citic Securities spokesperson Joanna Jiang would not comment on the accusation and no one from Zexi Investment office would take calls from the media.

TagsZexi Investment, Citic Securities, xu xiang, chinese stock market crash, chinese securities, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), chinese stock insider trading