BEIJING (REUTERS) - Former chairman of China's state-owned oil company Sinopec, Su Shulin, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for graft, The People's Daily reported on Thursday (July 26), citing the Shanghai Second Intermediate Court.

Su was Fujian governor and also served as the province's Communist Party deputy chief, according to anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He was chairman of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, before his 2011 appointment in Fujian, one of China's wealthiest provinces on the coast across from Taiwan.

China's Caixin financial media group, quoting several sources, had reported in 2015 that anti-graft inspectors found that Su had helped a relative's company secure Sinopec's oil depot project in the Yangpu economic development zone in Hainan province.

Sinopec had also paid for shopping trips to Hong Kong for Su's wife, according to Caixin.

Su was seen as a rising star within the party leadership because of his accomplishments.

President Xi Jinping has led a sweeping campaign against corruption, waste and extravagance in official ranks since he assumed power in 2012.