Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

Former PetroChina vice chairman to be prosecuted for graft

Published 15/06/2015, 06:23
© Reuters. Liao, Vice Chairman of PetroChina, attends a conference in Beijing
0857
-

BEIJING (Reuters) - Former PetroChina (HK:0857) Vice Chairman Liao Yongyuan has been expelled from the Communist Party and will be prosecuted for crimes including bribery, the party said on Monday, the latest official caught up in a sweeping corruption crackdown.

Liao stepped down from his posts as vice chairman and non-executive director in March. He was the most senior of two vice chairmen at PetroChina, China's top oil and gas producer, making him the company's second-highest ranking official.

The party's graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said that Liao abused his position to help with job promotions, took "enormous" bribes and was an adulterer.

"Liao Yongyuan was a senior party official, and seriously violated the party's political rules and the organisation's discipline," it said in a short statement.

Liao and the evidence of his crimes will be handed over to the legal authorities for prosecution, it added.

The Communist Party always conducts its own investigations before the courts are involved. As the party controls the courts, they generally do not challenge the party's accusations.

Calls to PetroChina's spokesman went unanswered.

The corruption watchdog had previously said Liao was under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations" stemming from his role as a general manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the parent company of PetroChina.

Liao, a 30-year veteran at CNPC, was appointed vice chairman of PetroChina in May 2014, just months after China announced that several top executives from the two companies were under investigation. That included Jiang Jiemin, former chairman of both entities.

President Xi Jinping has spent the past three years waging war on corruption, saying it threatens the party's very survival. Scores of senior officials in the party, the government, the military and state-owned enterprises have been brought down by the campaign.

Some were protégées of former security tsar Zhou Yongkang, who was jailed for life last week after being found guilty of crimes ranging from taking bribes to leaking state secrets.

Zhou rose through the ranks at CNPC and from 1996-1998 served as general manager of the firm.

In a separate statement, the graft watchdog said that Sun Hongzhi, who was a deputy head of one of China's business regulators, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, had also been expelled from the party and would be prosecuted for bribery and embezzlement.

© Reuters. Liao, Vice Chairman of PetroChina, attends a conference in Beijing

The state prosecutor said in a statement on its website that it had begun the indictment process into Liao and Sun and that both had been placed in detention.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.