Zhang Chunjiang has been stripped of his roles as China Mobile party secretary and vice president, after state prosecutors launched a probe into his professional conduct.
And China Mobile's board will soon meet to determine whether to also remove Zhang as vice chairman and executive director of the company.
China Mobile's controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC), decided to remove Zhang as vice president due to “alleged serious financial irregularities,” the company said in a statement.
CMCC is pressuring China Mobile's board to vote to oust Zhang as vice chairman and executive director – roles which had helped make Zhang the second most powerful China Mobile executive after CEO Wang Jianzhou.
The decision follows the announcement that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the body that deals with allegations of corruption by party members, is investigating Zhang for a “suspected serious breach of discipline.”
Zhang joined China Mobile in 2008, after previously serving as chairman of China Netcom.
Corrupt Chinese officials misappropriated an estimated $35 billion dollars last year, according to a report issued last week by the National Audit Office.