(Yicai Global) April 21 -- Wei Fang, a former vice president at Baidu, has been handed over to the police on suspicion of corruption, the Chinese search engine giant said in a statement today.

The statement issued by the Baidu Professional Ethics Committee provided no further details about the allegation leveled against Wei, who was promoted to the position of finance VP in early 2018.

Baidu has stepped up a crackdown on internal company violations in recent years. The Beijing-based company’s Professional Ethics Committee, which is mainly comprised of independent professionals who have worked as internal auditors, prosecutors, and police officers, has investigated and punished more than 100 employees since it was set up in 2011. It fired VPs Wang Zhan and Li Mingyuan in 2016 over financial issues.

Wei held positions in 15 Baidu-related firms, including Beijing Baihui Chuangying Investment Management, Beijing Baizhong Investment Management and Baidu China, according to corporate information platform Tianyancha.

Baidu subsidiaries Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology and Baidu Online Network Technology Beijing included Wei as their supervisor in corporate registration after former Baidu senior vice president Xiang Hailong left last year.

Public information shows that Qunar, a travel agency platform under Baidu’s control, introduced three new directors, including Wei, from Baidu in 2015.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Chen Juan, Peter Thomas