BEIJING: China’s anti-graft watchdog has said it is investigating a former senior executive at FAW Group Corp. for corruption, the latest target in a widening probe against the company.
State-owned FAW has a joint venture with Volkswagen AG. The joint venture is one of the two car-making ventures the German automaker has in China.
An Dewu, FAW’s former deputy general manager, was investigated for “suspected serious violations of the law”, the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s discipline watchdog said.
The brief report did not give any details of the investigation. In China, the term “serious violations of the law” can be used to denote corruption. It was not possible to contact An or any of his representatives.
Officials at FAW could not be reached for comment. Li Pengcheng, a spokesman for FAW-Volkswagen, said he “does not know” anything about the investigation and referred all queries to FAW.
The investigation into An was announced several days after China’s corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said it was investigating another former and one current executive at the company for “seriously violating the law”.
Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi and other foreign brands like Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Fiat SpA’s Chrysler have been under investigation in China over their pricing practices as Beijing steps up enforcement of its anti-monopoly laws.
EU leaders call jobs, growth summit for Oct
BRUSSELS: European Union leaders are set to hold an emergency summit on promoting growth and jobs in October at the suggestion of Italy, highlighting their concerns over the fragile economic recovery in the 28-country bloc.
“In recent weeks economic data have confirmed that the recovery, particularly in the euro area, is weak, inflation exceptionally low and unemployment unacceptably high,” read the statement issued after all 28 EU leaders met in Brussels late on Saturday.
The emergency summit will focus on “employment, especially youth employment”, which remains a big thorn in Europe’s side as it seeks to revive a stagnating economy.
Italy has been at the forefront of calls for greater flexibility from strict EU rules on budget deficits, alongside countries such as France, arguing that an excessive focus on German-style austerity has hampered Europe’s recovery.
Agencies
