XIAO TIAN, former deputy director of China’s General Administration of Sport, will be prosecuted for graft after an investigation found he abused his position and took bribes, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CPC) corruption watchdog said Thursday.

    He was also expelled from the Party. Xiao once sat on China’s Olympics committee.

    China, which is aggressively seeking to stamp out graft in Party and government ranks, has also sought to eject corrupt elements from its sports establishment, especially within soccer, which has been hit by match-fixing scandals.

    Xiao, who held a position equivalent of a vice minister, abused his position to get his wife promotions, took bribes, spent government money on banquets and had private companies arrange for him to play golf, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said.

    He also “sought benefits for others” in approving sports competitions and “sports industry operations,” it added, without elaborating.

    Xiao actively sought to interfere in the investigation into him, shifting funds around and engaging in a “conspiracy of silence,” the watchdog said.(SD-Agencies)