A former top economic official in China has been expelled from the Communist Party and removed from public office, Chinese state media report.

Liu Tienan, formerly deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, “accepted huge amounts of bribes”, Xinhuanews agency reported.

Allegations against Tienan emerged online in December when a well-known journalist, Luo Changping, deputy editor of the respectedCaijing Magazine, accused him of corruption.

On entries posted on his microblog, Changping said the official was involved in questionable financial deals, fabricated his academic record and threatened to kill a former mistress.

In May, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection began investigating Tienan for suspected “serious disciplinary violations”.

The downfall of the official is now being seen as a rare victory for public efforts to expose official corruption amid a high-profile crackdown.

Tienan “took advantage of his position to seek profits for others”Xinhua reported, citing the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He was found to “seek benefits for his relatives’ businesses by breaking relevant regulations” and had accepted “cash and gifts”,Xinhua said.

The commission also found Liu was “morally degenerate”, Xinhuaadded, without giving further details.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had called for a crackdown on corruption, vowing to tackle it from the powerful “tigers” at the top to the “flies” at the bottom of the Communist Party.

In June, Lei Zhengfu, a former official at the centre of a sex tape extortion scandal, was jailed for accepting bribes.

In July, former Railways Minister Liu Zhijun was given a suspended death sentence for corruption and abuse of power.