SEVERAL high ranking officials, including the former president of Offshore Oil Engineering Co, a listed unit of China National Offshore Oil Corp, are said to be under customs investigation for allegedly evading tax of up to 100 million yuan (US$15 million).

Other executives, including Jiang Xizhao, former president of the unit, are said to have allegedly evaded paying value-added tax by faking import contracts for marine engineering products, the 21st Century Business Herald said, citing an unnamed source close to issue.

Shanghai-listed Offshore Oil Engineering said in a November 2 statement that Jiang has resigned as a member of the company's board, without elaborating.

The news report cited people familiar with the matter as saying that about 10 executives and project directors at the unit were being investigated by the anti-smuggling department of the customs since mid-October.

The General Administration of Customs discovered the alleged tax evasion by the unit during an audit. The unit and a brokerage were found to have allegedly faked a receipt and import contract for the products so that no tax was paid. Part of the tax money saved by the unit was then given to the brokerage as a commission.