THE Party’s graft watchdog has launched a one-month inspection of the China Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec Group) as part of the latest round of inspections of State-owned enterprises and central government departments.

    Zhao Wenbo, leader of the 12-member inspection team sent by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), told more than 8,300 executives and managers at the headquarters of Asia’s biggest oil company in Beijing on Monday that the inspection would look for abuses of power and public funds embezzlement, China Discipline Inspection Report said.

    Fu Chengyu, the chief executive of Sinopec, assured the inspection team there would be no interference by the company’s management into the investigation.

    The crackdown on corruption has so far ensnared dozens of heavyweights in the country’s energy industry, including Jiang Jiemin, former head of China National Petroleum Corp.

    Fu was the first Sinopec official to be interrogated on the first day of the inspection, the report said. Zhao also said that the inspection would target those key figures in the company that might be promoted to leadership positions in the future.

    State media also revealed some details of the corruption busters’ investigation of Sinopec. The 12 inspectors, from central and local anti-graft departments, were divided into groups to conduct interrogations in separate rooms, the report said.

    The new round of inspections would target 13 government departments and State-owned companies, including mining and energy company Shenhua Group, power company China Huadian Corp. and telecommunications giant China Unicom. (SD-Agencies)