Crackdown hits officials at all levels

Ex-security chief

Zhou Yongkang, the former domestic security chief, has been placed under investigation for alleged corruption, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Zhou, 71, is the highest-profile figure caught in President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption and the most senior Chinese official investigated in a graft scandal since the Party swept to power in 1949.

On Dec 5, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee expelled Zhou from the Party, accusing him of crimes ranging from accepting bribes to leaking State secrets. The case has been handed over to judicial authorities, setting the stage for a trial, Xinhua News Agency reported. [Full story]