Beijing ( CNN ) -- The wife of a controversial Chinese leader and a family aide have been arrested in connection with the death of a British businessman , Chinese state media announced Tuesday . China Central Television reported that the November death of Neil Heywood , a family friend of ousted Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai , has been ruled a homicide . Bo 's wife , Bo-Gu Kailai , and family aide Zhang Xiaojun have been arrested as part of the investigation , CCTV reported . Meanwhile , Bo has been stripped of his seats in the Communist Party 's Central Committee and Politburo -- the nation 's ruling organs -- for an unspecified `` serious breach of regulations , '' the network announced in a late-night report . Bo was once seen as one of the rising stars of Chinese politics . But he was sacked as the Communist Party chief in Chongqing , southwestern China 's biggest city , in March after a scandal involving a deputy who helped lead an aggressive crackdown on organized crime . The state news agency Xinhua said Bo-Gu and the couple 's son were `` on good terms '' with Heywood , who was found dead in his hotel room in November at age 41 . `` However , they had conflict over economic interests , which had been intensified , '' Xinhua reported , citing unspecified Chinese authorities . Both Bo-Gu and Zhang `` have been transferred to judicial authorities , '' Xinhua reported . `` Whoever has broken the law will be handled in accordance with law and will not be tolerated , no matter who is involved , '' the agency quoted unnamed senior officials as saying . Heywood 's death was originally blamed on alcohol poisoning , according to media reports . But the case was reopened after Bo 's deputy , Wang Lijun , sought refuge at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu in February . After leaving the consulate , Wang was taken into custody for entering the diplomatic post without authorization and is believed to remain in custody . The son of a Maoist-era revolutionary hero , Bo rose through China 's political ranks and was appointed Communist Party secretary of Chongqing , a city of more than 30 million people . He was a polarizing figure in Chinese politics but had been seen as a future contender for top leadership roles . Bo launched a heavy-handed crusade against organized crime with Wang , his police chief and eventual right-hand man . But since his fall from grace , critics came forward to recount tales of heavy-handed treatment and even outright torture as part of the campaign . Beijing-based lawyer Li Zhuang told CNN in March that he defended an alleged gang member in 2009 and discovered that his client had been repeatedly hung from a ceiling by police over a period of eight days . When he tried to expose the abuse , he said , he was arrested and tortured himself , then sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for fabricating evidence and inciting witnesses . `` Their barbaric kind of law enforcement or , rather , their trampling of the law was against everything a modern civilization stands for , '' Li said . The British government had sought a new investigation into the death of Heywood , who was married to a Chinese woman and had lived in China for more than a decade . The British strategic information consultancy Hakluyt and Co. , a company formed by former officers of the spy agency MI6 , has said it and other Western companies had sought Heywood 's advice on doing business in China . Heywood 's close relationship with the Bo family had been documented by local and international news outlets . In a 2009 interview with a Beijing newspaper , he praised the `` extraordinary talent '' of Bo 's younger son , describing how the teenager excelled academically and socially at a prestigious British boarding school .
China announces arrests in the death of British businessman Neil Heywood . The wife of ex-Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai is one of those arrested , CCTV reports . Bo stripped of top Communist Party posts for unspecified violations , network said . His wife and the businessman had a `` conflict over economic interests , '' Xinhua reports .