Bribes, sexual favours, nepotism: abuses of power uncovered at Chinese state-owned giants
Investigators from the central anti-graft agency uncover rot in latest round of 'targeted' inspections
Officials at several major state-owned enterprises (SOEs), including China Petrochemical (Sinopec) and China Unicom, have been found abusing their power and resources, according to inspectors from the central anti-graft agency.
At Sinopec, businesses operated by the families and relatives of its executives were found to have profited from those connections.
The problem was particularly acute in sections such as construction, supply, sales, joint-ventures, and overseas operations.
Group chairman Fu Chengyu was quoted by as saying the company would correct "wrongdoings" within two months.
At China Unicom, inspectors found executives had asked suppliers and contractors for both monetary bribes and sexual favours.
Zhou Xiaoke, a spokesman for China Unicom, said it would correct the problems within "months" and report the improvements to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Since Thursday evening, the CCDI has been releasing results from its most recent round of inspections, carried out in November, 2014.
At China Shipping, relatives of executives had been put in charge of various operations and had used state-owned resources to make personal fortunes.
The CCDI said its most recent round of inspections were "targeted" and more intensive than others that had taken place since President Xi Jinping launched his anti-graft campaign.
They were launched because inspectors were already aware of problems at the companies.
Nine of the 13 entities inspected by the CCDI were SOEs. By last night, eight of them, including three energy companies, had been briefed on the results.
At China State Shipbuilding Corporation, another SOE, inspectors found that executives were often linked to the company's suppliers.
And at the coal-based energy company Shenhua, managers were accused of abusing their authority by granting contracts in return for personal financial gain.
A commentary published on the website said chains of corruption had formed in some SOEs, particularly among employees who worked in the companies' supply and contract sections.
The commentary blamed the anti-graft personnel at these companies for not doing their job.
The anti-graft personnel at China Huadian Corporation were described as existing in name only because they helped cover up corruption, rather than expose it.
China Shenhua Energy fell 1.7 per cent to HK$20.57 while Huadian Power International dropped 3.2 per cent to HK$6.05. China Unicom fell 0.12 per cent to HK$12.76.
