A senior official with China's Ministry of Finance has been detained on suspicion of taking bribes, it was reported in yesterday Beijing Times.

A clerk with the ministry told China Daily that Xu Fangming, director of the ministry's Finance Department, had been detained in relation to a case that has already resulted in the arrests of two top officials with the Agricultural Development Bank of China.

The Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate, believed to be in charge of the investigation, refused to comment, as did the ministry.

According to Beijing Times' unnamed source, Xu was detained by the procuratorate's anti-corruption department several weeks ago. No other details of the case were given.

As well as being director of the Ministry of Finance's finance department, Xu is also one of seven directors of the state-owned China Central Huijin Investment Company, a major shareholder in two State-owned commercial banks, the Construction Bank of China and the Bank of China.

The case that Xu is suspected of involvement in relates to two former vice-presidents of the Agricultural Development Bank of China, Yu Dalu and Hu Chushou, said the report.

According to an earlier report by the Beijing Times in mid-June, Yu allegedly embezzled 4 million yuan (US$480,000) from the bank and took 8 million yuan (US$960,000) in bribes. Hu allegedly took 6 million yuan (US$720,000) in bribes.

Both men have been arrested and are awaiting prosecution, the report said.

Xu is reportedly the highest-ranking finance official to be involved in corruption investigations.

(China Daily June 29, 2005)