BEIJING -- Prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into Wang Yang, a former senior legislator in northeast China's Liaoning Province, following allegations of bribery, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced Tuesday.

The SPP said that Wang, who was formerly the deputy director of the Standing Committee of Liaoning Provincial People's Congress, is subject to compulsory measures, a legal term that can cover arrest, detention, summons, bail pending trial, or residential surveillance.

Earlier this month, Wang was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC) and removed from public office for violating the Party's code of conduct, the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) ruled after an internal investigation.