China’s second-highest ranking general, He Weidong, along with eight senior military officials, has been expelled from the Communist Party and the armed forces over alleged serious corruption and disciplinary violations, the Defense Ministry announced Friday.

Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said the officials were accused of grave misconduct involving large sums of money, calling the offenses “of grave nature, with extremely harmful consequences.”

He Weidong, vice-chair of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) and a member of the 24-member Politburo, is the most senior figure to be removed in President Xi Jinping’s latest anti-graft campaign within the military. He has not appeared publicly for several months.

He previously headed the Eastern Theater Command, responsible for military operations targeting Taiwan if conflict were to erupt. Among those expelled was Miao Hua, director of the CMC’s political work department, who was already under investigation last year.

The announcement comes days before Xi and top party leaders convene in Beijing for a key closed-door meeting, known as the fourth plenum, to set national goals for the next five years.

Xi’s long-running anti-corruption drive has previously ousted hundreds of senior officers, including two former defense ministers — Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe — accused of corruption last year.