China Steps Up Crackdown on Corruption in the Tobacco Industry

At least five individuals from China National Tobacco Corp. and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration have been placed under graft investigations this year. Photo: VCG

Beijing has stepped up its crackdown on corruption in the tobacco sector this year, placing at least five people including government regulators and state-owned cigarette company executives under graft investigations.

Yu Jinxiang, deputy director of the Anhui provincial tobacco monopoly administration in East China, is the latest official in the industry to be investigated for “suspected serious violations of (Communist Party) discipline and law,” according to a statement published Friday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the country’s top graft buster. While the statement provided no details about his wrongdoing, the phrase is a common euphemism for corruption.