FILE PHOTO: Xiang Junbo, chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), attends a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) in China's parliament, in Beijing, China March 12, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) - The former chairman of China’s insurance regulator Xiang Junbo confessed his guilt to crimes in his trial in court, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday.

Xiang is the highest-ranking financial regulator being investigated for graft to date.

He was expelled from the Communist Party last year after China’s anti-graft watchdog said he had “committed serious violations of political discipline and rules” in order to serve personal political interests.