Zhang Chunjiang, the party secretary and a vice president of China Mobile, is under investigation for a “suspected serious breach of discipline”.
China Mobile confirmed in a brief statement yesterday the probe into Zhang, 51.
State media reported the news on Sunday, quoting the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the body that deals with allegations of corruption and other illegal behavior by party members.
As the ranking party representative in China’s biggest telco, Zhang is the most powerful official in China Mobile after the high profile chairman and CEO Wang Jianzhou.
In an unconfirmed report, mainland tech news site DoNews said the probe into Zhang was connected to a listed company on the GEM board, China’s new exchange for startups.
Zhang was appointed to the post 18 months ago as part of the reorganization of China’s state-owned operators. Previously he was CEO and president of China Netcom, the fixed-line carrier which was acquired by China Unicom in the restructure.
Wang, born in Yantai, Shandong province, is also a member of the Chinese People’s Consultative Conference.