One of China's most senior military officials has been accused of accepting bribes and expelled from the Communist Party, state media report.
Gen Xu Caihou was once a member of China's elite decision-making body, the Politburo. He will now be handed over to prosecutors for a court martial.
The decision was made at a meeting of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, presided over by President Xi Jinping.
Investigations found that Xu took the advantage of his post to assist the promotion of certain people and accepted bribe personally and through his family members, said the statement issued after the meeting.
He was also found seeking profits for other people in exchange of money and properties, taken through his family members, the statement said.
"His case is serious and leaves vile impact," it said.
Xu had been under investigation for discipline violations from March 15 and his case has been handed over to the military procuratorate, the statement said.
Xu with big baddie Bo Xilai
Analysts say this could be the biggest military scandal China has seen since a vice admiral was jailed for life for embezzlement in 2006.
Rumours about the investigation into Xu had circulated for months. He is believed to have been held under house arrest since March. But many believed poor health - he is reported to have been treated for cancer - would save him from prosecution.
This move is being presented in state media as part of the government's battle against corruption, and comes at a time when speculation is rife about the fate of one of China's most powerful politicians, former Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang, who is allegedly being investigated over allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
Tens of thousands of officials have been arrested since President Xi began the anti-corruption campaign in 2012. He has warned that the Communist Party's very survival is threatened by corruption and has vowed to root out every corrupt official, whether "tigers" or "flies.".
Born in June 1943 in the port city of Dalian in northeast Liaoning Province, Xu joined the army in 1963 and the party in 1971, rising steadily through the ranks of both.
He became the secretary and deputy chief of the political department of the military command in the northeastern province of Jilin Province, and spent most of his career in Jilin and Liaoning, before taking up senior roles in the army's main political department in the 1990s.
He served as a member of the 15th, 16th and 17th CPC Central Committees and was a member of the Politburo between 2007 and 2012.
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