Sun Qin, deputy director of the National Energy Administration, was appointed general manager of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) to replace Kang Rixin, who was sacked due to alleged "grave violations of discipline," Xinhua learned from the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee on Friday.

Kang was allegedly involved in a 1.8 billion yuan (US$260 million) corruption case, people.com.cn, the People’s Daily website, reported Friday.

An insider said there are two main accusations against Kang: appropriating public money to buy stocks, and interfering with the bidding results of nuclear power projects. And according to an anonymous CNNC staffer, Kang may also have taken illegal money from the company’s main projects.

The CNNC is responsible for China's nuclear weapons, power production, and managing the country’s nuclear waste disposal facilities, according to the company's website. The corporation made a profit of 4.8 billion yuan ($705 million) last year.

Kang had been the corporation's general manager and Party secretary since September 2003. He was named among the "Top Ten Talent Managers of China" in 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency & China Daily August 14, 2009)