Ex-Sinopec executive Cao investigated by China anti-graft agency

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's top anti-graft watchdog said on Wednesday it was investigating ex-Sinopec Group vice president Cao Yaofeng, in the latest probe into a former executive at the energy giant.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has waged a war on corruption since he came to power in 2012, locking up dozens of senior officials and executives.

China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said Cao, who was a vice president at state-run Sinopec from 2005-14, was suspected of making "serious breaches of discipline and the law", which is how it refers to corruption.

Reuters was unable to reach Cao or a representative for comment.

The 67-year-old, who is being investigated by the CCDI and authorities in Shandong province, also served as a director of the group's listed arm, Sinopec Corp.

The probe into Cao follows the announcement in May of an investigation into another former senior Sinopec executive, Zhang Haichao. In 2018, former Sinopec Corp chairman Su Shulin was sentenced to 16 years in prison for graft.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; writing by Tom Daly; editing by Alexander Smith)