Beijing, Jan 10 (IANS): The Communist Party of China's discipline watchdog has handed over to prosecutors the cases of eight senior officials after concluding a probe into graft charges against them, a senior official said Friday.

The officials to be prosecuted include Zhou Zhenhong, Liu Tienan, Ni Fake, Wang Suyi, Li Daqiu, Tong Mingqian, Yang Kun and Qi Pingjing, China Daily quoted Huang Shuxian, deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and minister of supervision, as saying.

Five of the officials against whom legal proceedings will be initiated were senior provincial officials, two were senior officials of central government departments while one was senior executive of a state bank.

They were among 31 high-profile officials investigated by the CCDI last year. The remaining 23 are still under investigation, including Jiang Jiemin, former head of the state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and Li Dongsheng, former vice minister of public security, Huang said.

Last year, the Communist Party of China's discipline inspection agencies punished about 182,000 officials nationwide, 13.3 percent more than in 2012, according to Huang.