BEIJING (Reuters) - China will prosecute a former senior provincial official for corruption after an investigation found he illegally accepted gifts and abused his power, the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog said on Saturday.

Feng Xinzhu, once a deputy governor of the northwestern province of Shaanxi, was put under investigation in January.

In a statement, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said the probe had found Feng had accumulated a huge amount of assets which it suspected were bribes and promoted officials at the request of private companies.

Feng has been sacked and expelled from the party and his case has been handed over to legal authorities, the watchdog said, meaning he will be prosecuted.

It was not possible to reach Feng or a legal or family representative for comment.

President Xi Jinping has waged war on deep-seated corruption since assuming power more than five years ago, vowing to go after lowly “flies” as well as powerful “tigers”.