THE former boss of China’s state-owned banking giant Everbright Group has been arrested on charges of taking bribes, state media said Thursday.

Li Xiaopeng - who previously served as Everbright’s party secretary and chairman - was arrested “for suspected bribe-taking”, state news agency Xinhua said, citing the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the government body that issued the order.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged an anti-corruption crackdown since taking office that critics claim helps him purge political rivals and guarantee loyalty within his ranks.

Li’s arrest comes days after he was kicked out of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and dismissed from public office “due to severe violations of discipline and law”.

A probe found Li had accepted gifts and money, defied Party policy on improving conduct, and “attempted to obstruct the investigation into his case”, Xinhua said.

“Li had sought benefits for others in the selection and appointment of officials and took advantage of his power to secure profits for his relatives in their business operating activities,” it added.

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Trained as an economist, Li has spent most of his career in the finance sector.

He served in leadership positions at several major Chinese banks, before retiring from the chairmanship of China Everbright in March 2022.

China’s top anti-corruption body had in March said it would launch an “inspection tour” targeting 30 state-owned-enterprises, including China Everbright Group and other major finance organisations in the world’s second-largest economy.

Last month, the former chairman and CCP chief of China Life Insurance, Wang Bin, was sentenced to life in prison for corruption.

Wang was handed “death with a two-year reprieve” for taking bribes and hiding overseas savings, according to Xinhua.

His sentence “can be commuted to life imprisonment... (with) no further reduction or parole” after two years, it added. AFP