China arrests ex-security chief for corruption

Chinese authorities have arrested former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang and expelled him from the ruling Communist Party, accusing him of crimes ranging from accepting bribes to leaking state secrets and setting the stage for his trial.

Zhou, 71, is by far the highest-profile figure caught up in President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption.

He is also the most senior Chinese official to be ensnared in a graft scandal since the Communists swept to power in 1949 and the highest-ranking to be prosecuted since the fall of the Gang of Four in 1976 following the Cultural Revolution.

In a terse statement released by the official Xinhua news agency at midnight into Saturday, the party's elite, decision-making Politburo said Zhou's case had been handed over to judicial authorities.

The party began its probe into Zhou, one of China's most powerful politicians of the last decade, in July, following months of rumours and speculation that he was in trouble.

"The investigation found that Zhou seriously violated the party's political, organisational and confidentiality discipline," Xinhua said.

"He took advantage of his posts to seek profits for others and accepted huge bribes personally and through his family.

"He abused his power to help relatives, mistresses and friends make huge profits from operating businesses, resulting in serious losses of state-owned assets," the report said.

Zhou also leaked party and state secrets, took money and property either himself or through his relatives, Xinhua said, without providing details.

In a common accusation used to discredit fallen officials, Xinhua said Zhou had committed adultery with a number of women and had "traded his power for sex and money".