Former official in Guangzhou under graft investigation

Cao Jianliao, former deputy mayor of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, who was investigated for allegedly taking nearly 300 million yuan ($49.1 million) in bribes was transferred to the judicial department for a further investigation and future prosecution recently, according to the local anti-graft body.

Cao, who was investigated in December, has also been expelled from the Party and was dismissed from public office for corruption and serious violations of Party discipline and laws earlier this year, the body said.

After Cao was put under investigation, he admitted to extorting money through reconstruction of the old city and through land requisitions in the southern metropolis in the past two decades, local media reported.