A Chinese billionaire has been detained by authorities under suspicion of bribery, shedding yet more light on endemic corruption in the emerging country.

According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Xu Yusho, the president of Invengo Information Technology, which is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, has been arrested for a bribery related to the railways sector.

Prosecutors said Xu, who is also a member of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, was taken into custody following a request by the Zhengzhou Railway Bureau in Henan province.

Invengo, which provides radio frequency identification tags and readers for the Railways Ministry, generated more than half of its revenue from railway contracts in 2010.

The Southern Metropolis News reported that Xu and Invengo have enjoyed “particularly close ties” with the Railways Ministry. Ju Jiaxing, an independent member of Invengo's board, had served as the ministry's deputy director of science and technology from the late 1990s until 2004.

The Daily Sunshine reported Ju is believed to have maintained influence in the ministry, doing some work for its high-speed-railways office and also serving as a specialist team for the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway.

The Morning Post noted that many railways officials have been detained in connection with a comprehensive series of corruption probes prompted by downfall of former railways minister Liu Zhijun last year.

Xu, 47, is one of the wealthiest people in China, with assets estimated of 2.2 billion yuan ($353 million) in assets, placing him
in the top 500 of the Hurun Rich List for that year.