PetroChina denies more officials probed for graft

Wang Guoliang, then CFO of PetroChina, announces company results during a news conference in Hong Kong on March 20, 2006.  PetroChina, the listed arm of China's largest oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), rejected a media rep
Wang Guoliang, then CFO of PetroChina, announces company results during a news conference in Hong Kong on March 20, 2006.  PetroChina, the listed arm of China's largest oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), rejected a media report on Monday that said two of its executives were under investigation for graft. -- FILE PHOTO: REUTERS

SHANGHAI (AFP) - PetroChina, the listed arm of China's largest oil producer China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), rejected a media report on Monday that said two of its executives were under investigation for graft.

The China Business News reported on Monday that PetroChina vice-president Sun Longde and director Wang Guoliang were taken away by authorities last Thursday.

But PetroChina said in a statement that "the news does not conform with the facts".

"The company's director Wang Guoliang and vice-president Sun Longde are performing their duties as normal," it added.

The newspaper also reported that CNPC planning department manager Wu Mei and two officials from another CNPC subsidiary had been "taken away" by authorities.

PetroChina previously announced that three executives were under investigation for alleged "discipline violations", a term that typically refers to corruption.

State media have reported that Wang Yongchun, one of CNPC's vice-presidents, was also the subject of a government probe.

And Jiang Jiemin, a former CNPC chairman, is under investigation and has been removed from his most recent post as director of China's supervisory body for state-owned firms, the official Xinhua news agency said last week.

China's president Xi Jinping has vowed to crack down on corruption at all levels of the government, calling graft a threat to the future of the ruling Communist party.

Trading in PetroChina shares was suspended on Monday morning in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where the firm is listed, but resumed in the afternoon.

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