The Party discipline watchdog of Foshan city confirmed on Wednesday that Lu Zhiran, executive vice-chairman of the standing committee of the Gaoming District People's Congress, is being investigated for a serious disciplinary violation.

Since late February, allegations have circulated online claiming that Lu lives in a six-story villa with an area of more than 0.27 hectares and owns personal assets worth more than 100 million yuan ($16.1 million).

He also allegedly closed a public street for private use.

In previous media reports, Lu claimed that the assets were earned honestly by his sons.

According to the Nanfang Daily, Lu started running a fish farm in the early 1980s and made a significant amount of money from it. He served as a village chief between 1985 and 1993 and became a deputy to the National People’s Congress in 1993.

He was appointed a township Party secretary in 1994 and took up his current position in 2010.