SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The former top prosecutor in the Chinese financial hub of Shanghai has been kicked out of the ruling Communist Party over a range of violations, the party said on Thursday, and a lawsuit for suspected bribe-taking will be launched.

Chen Xu, who had served in Shanghai’s judiciary since the 1970s, had “seriously damaged the credibility of the judiciary and social justice”, the party’s internal watchdog said on its website.

According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), an investigation showed Chen, 64, had violated a range of party rules governing the behavior of cadres and he was suspected of accepting bribes.

It said he had interfered in the judiciary process, used his position to benefit others, including family members, accepted vacations and golf games, violated rules barring party cadres from private clubs and followed superstitious beliefs, among other transgressions.

The bribery case against Chen was being turned over to the courts, it said.

It was not possible to reach Chen or his family for comment and it was not known if he had legal representation.

President Xi Jinping has waged a battle against deep-seated graft since taking office four years ago, warning like others before him that the problem was so serious that it could undermine the party’s grip on power.

Party officials in officially atheist China are not supposed to practise religion and the charge of superstition is often leveled against those accused of corruption to further blacken their names.

Chen was Shanghai’s top prosecutor from February 2008 and head of the party committee in the procuratorate from June the following year, according to the CCDI.