Update | China Resources chief Song Lin sacked as UBS probes banker’s alleged affair, finance ties
UBS won business from China Resources soon after she joined bank
Song Lin, the top official of state-owned conglomerate China Resources who is under investigation for suspected corruption, has been sacked as chairman of the firm, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.
Citing an official with the Organisation Department of the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee, Xinhua said Song Lin was fired because he was suspected of "serious discipline and law violations" - party speak for corruption.
Meanwhile, the Swiss bank UBS has launched an internal investigation focused on the alleged relationship between one of its Hong Kong-based bankers and Song, sources told the South China Moring Post.
The bank on Wednesday started investigating Helen Yang Lijuan, a senior investment banker based at its Hong Kong office. The probe was initiated after UBS' Switzerland headquarters ordered the bank's top bosses in Asia to look into claims around Yang's affair with the China Resources chairman.
According to the allegations, first levelled by Xinhua journalist and whistle-blower Wang Wenzhi on Tuesday, Yang helped Song launder money he made from allegedly corrupt deals.
China Resources has removed Song's photo, his denial of the allegations, his past speeches and nearly every mention of him from the company website.
