China Resources chairman sacked amid corruption investigation

BEIJING, April 19 (Reuters) - A Chinese executive under investigation for suspected corruption has been sacked as chairman of powerful state-owned conglomerate China Resources Holdings Co. Ltd., the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Citing an official with the Organization 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 shorthand for corruption.

Song appears to be the latest official to fall in President Xi Jinping's campaign against corruption. Xi was vowed to target high-flying "tigers" as well as lowly "flies".

Song was also sacked from his position as the company's party chief, Xinhua said.

China Resources is a holding company for a group of energy, land and consumer businesses in mainland China and Hong Kong.

China's top anti-graft body said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into Song.

The investigation comes after a Chinese journalist publicly accused Song of laundering money. Song had strongly denied the charge and called the journalist's claims "slanderous" in a public statement.

(Reporting By Megha Rajagopalan; Editing by Nick Macfie)