China says ex-head of state-run oil giant being probed
by AFP Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 2, 2024

The former head of one of China's largest oil companies is under investigation for "serious violations" of the law, Beijing said Friday, making him the latest executive to fall foul of a sweeping anti-graft crackdown.

Wang Yilin served as chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a vast energy group based in Beijing, from 2015 until 2018.

He is suspected of "serious violations of discipline and the law", the ruling Communist Party's anti-graft agency said in a statement, using a formulation that often refers to alleged corruption.

Wang is "currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation", the agency said.

News of the probe comes just weeks after another CNPC executive -- former deputy general manager Xu Wenrong -- was arrested for suspected bribery.

Xu was concurrently kicked out of the Communist Party for "accepting huge sums of money", the anti-graft agency said.

CNPC was ranked fifth on last year's Fortune Global 500 list of the world's biggest corporations by revenue.

President Xi Jinping has waged a sweeping campaign against deep-seated official corruption since coming to power and the campaign has recently targeted some of the country's top financiers and businessmen.

Proponents say the policy promotes clean governance but critics complain that it helps Xi purge political rivals.

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