China has suspended a top military official and placed him under investigation for corruption, the defense ministry said, as leader Xi Jinping broadens a sweeping purge in the upper ranks of the world’s largest military.

China has placed a high-ranking military official under investigation, a Defense Ministry spokesperson says

China is investigating Miao Hua, a member of the military’s top body led by President Xi Jinping, according to the AFP, ramping up a sweeping graft probe roiling the upper echelons of the People’s Liberation Army.

BEIJING -- China has put a high-ranking military official under investigation, its Defense Ministry announced Thursday. The official, Miao Hua, is director of the Political Work Department, on the powerful Central Military Commission that overseas the People’s Liberation Army.

A top Chinese military official has been removed from office and is suspected of "serious violations of discipline", Beijing said Thursday, the latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country's armed forces.

China announced on Thursday that top military official Miao Hua has been removed from his post and is under investigation for "serious violations of discipline," marking the latest high-ranking official to be caught in a broader anti-corruption crackdown within the country’s military.