Deputy head of China Tobacco expelled from CPC

Xu Ying, deputy head of China's State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, also known as China Tobacco, has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and dismissed from his post for severe violations of disciplines and laws, the country's top anti-corruption authorities said on Wednesday.

The probe has been carried out by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision.

Xu, 59, was found to have reportedly accepting gifts and money and attending banquets in violation of regulations. He also failed to truthfully report personal matters and sought benefits for multiple relatives in terms of employment and job transfers, the top anti-corruption authorities said in a statement.

It added that Xu abused his power and misused public resource to seek benefits for others and for personal gain. He allegedly engaged in significant power-for-money transactions, using his position to seek benefits for others in administrative approvals, business operations, and employee recruitment, and illegally accepting large amounts of money and goods.

The top anti-corruption authorities identified Xu's behavior as serious violations of the Party disciplines, therefore it decided to expel him from the Party and confiscate all his illicit gains.

His suspected violations of national laws will be transferred to prosecutors for further criminal review and investigation, the statement added.

Public information shows that Xu started his career in the administration in 1988. Since then, he has worked for the nation's tobacco industry for decades.

In March 2014, he became the deputy head of the tobacco administration.