Under investigation: Shanghai vice-mayor Ai Baojun becomes city's first 'tiger' caught in anti-corruption spotlight
Vice-mayor and free-trade zone boss Ai Baojun becomes metropolis' first senior official to fall in nationwide anti-corruption campaign
Ai Baojun, a vice-mayor of Shanghai, has become the first city-level official in the mainland's largest metropolis to be investigated by the Communist Party's anti-graft body as part of a nationwide crackdown.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Tuesday that Ai, 55, was being investigated for disciplinary violations - a stock euphemism for corruption - without providing details.
A source close to local investigators in Ai's case told the South China Morning Post that the vice-mayor was suspected of economic crimes and the probe had taken several months.
Read more: Full coverage of the anti-corruption campaign
The investigation of Ai, who was also a chief of the city's free-trade zone (FTZ), ended a guessing game on who would be the first disgraced "tiger" - or powerful official - in Shanghai, after a two-month investigation by the party's graft-busters between July and September last year.
At that time, CCDI chief Wang Qishan promised zero tolerance of corruption. Wang's remarks heightened expectations of a fruitful crackdown on unethical officials in Shanghai, a power base of former president Jiang Zemin .
Government sources said Shanghai officials were apprehensive about the two-month investigations last year as the CCDI's move could stir up a hornet's nest of political and graft scandals.
The investigation of Ai followed initial findings by a CCDI advance team who were deployed with local police with experience in dealing with economic crimes, the source said.
The latter probe uncovered Ai's alleged wrongdoings during his tenure at Baosteel Group, one of China's biggest steelmakers.