Yao Gang, vice chairman of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), attends a forum in Beijing, China November 25, 2013. Picture taken November 25, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - The former vice chairman of China’s securities regulator, Yao Gang, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, a local Chinese court said on Friday.

Yao was one of the most senior figures arrested in a crackdown on suspected stock manipulation in late 2015.