Former oil boss sentenced to 15 years jail over bribes

The former head of China's biggest state oil producer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison on corruption charges.

The Intermediate People's Court in Dezhou, Shandong province announced the verdict on Thursday, finding Liao Yongyuan, former general manager of China National Petroleum Corp, guilty of taking more than 13 million yuan ($1.9 million) in bribes from 2003 to 2015.

Liao, also vice chairman of PetroChina, a subsidiary of the corporation, was found to have unexplained income of more than 20 million yuan.

The corporation, as well as PetroChina, are key targets in the nationwide anti-corruption drive which began in late 2012.

So far, more than a dozen senior officials and executives at the two companies have been placed under investigation.

A 30-year-veteran of the industry, An Wenhua, deputy general manager of PetroChina Tarim Oilfield Company who was a key figure in oil exploration in Tarim Oilfield, has also been placed under investigation on corruption charges, along with the Jia Dong, the oil field’s chief accountant.