Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, speaks to reporters on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing in this March 7, 2014 file photo. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Yao Gang, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, is being investigated for suspected "severe disciplinary violations," the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced Friday.

Yao, 53, is the second senior CSRC official to come under investigation following the market turmoil. He has a doctorate in economics and took up his current job in 2008, according to his official resume.

In September, the graft watchdog began a probe into an assistant chairman at the securities regulator called Zhang Yujun, also for suspected serious violations of discipline.