China arrests former senior anti-graft official for suspected bribes

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has arrested a former senior anti-graft official on suspicion of taking bribes as the country continues its crackdown on corruption, state news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday.

Li Gang previously headed the discipline inspection and supervision team of the Chinese Communist Party’s organization department, which functions as the human resources arm that assigns roles to party members.

China has been moving against high-profile individuals for corruption, with probes last year into a deputy central bank governor, a top-ranking military official and a former chairman of the country’s biggest oil and gas company.

President Xi Jinping has called corruption the biggest threat to the Communist Party, saying in a speech addressing China’s top anti-graft watchdog in January that it is still pervading in China and on the rise.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue)