13 COSCO employees facing corruption probe in Shanghai

A total of 13 employees of COSCO Logistics (Shanghai) Distribution and its associated companies have been questioned over alleged corruption, local prosecutors said yesterday.The workers are being investigated by the Hongkou District Prosecutors Office in relation to 12 separate cases, it said.

In one case, which was accepted by prosecutors in February, COSCO's former general manager and his assistant are being probed over allegations they embezzled large sums of money from 2008-12.

The two executives, surnamed Fu and Shen, are also alleged to have taken bribes from several steel companies.

Full details of the case and the amount of money involved have yet to be released.

In a separate case, the former deputy chief engineer of a local railway bureau, has been charged with accepting bribes from suppliers and contractors.

The official, surnamed Meng, is alleged to have offered the companies preferential treatment with regard to contracts for the maintenance of bullet trains and supply of parts.

An official from the materials management department of the same railway bureau, surnamed Wang, has also been charged with graft, the prosecutors office said.

Corruption in the railway, finance and real estate sectors is a key focus for prosecutors this year. In the first five months, probes were launched into 150 cases involving 196 officials, up 17 percent on the same period of last year.

Successful prosecutions have been brought against 32 officials in the railway, finance and property sectors.