Ex-boss of China National Petroleum Corp jailed for corruption

Wang Yongchun, former deputy manager of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to 20 years in prison, reports say.

Wang has been on trial in Xiangyang, central Hubei province, since July, having been charged with “serious disciplinary offences” including accepting a substantial amount in bribes, according to Reuters reports.

An investigation of CNPC, part of PetroChina, and its executives commenced in 2013, which saw Wang removed from his post in August that year and eventually charged in March 2015.

“The property of defendant Wang Yongchun and his family obviously exceeded legal income, and the source of 42.5 million yuan ($6.7m) in assets could not be explained,” the Xiangyang city Intermediate Court in Hubei province said in a statement, according to Reuters.

On Monday, CNPC’s former chairman Jiang Jiemin was reportedly sentenced to 16 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power.

Wang’s crimes were committed under Jiang’s direction, the court said, leading to “extremely large losses” from state interests.