An energy official who is being investigated by prosecutors on bribery allegations led a simple life, a news report said.

Wei Pengyuan, a deputy director of the coal department of the National Energy Administration, was deemed a "frugal" person by some of his colleagues — he rode a bike to work and never wore luxurious clothes, Beijing Times reported on Thursday.

However, according to a report by caixin.com last week, Wei was found to have almost 100 million yuan ($16 million) of cash in his home.

Anti-corruption officers borrowed 16 currency-counting machines from a Beijing bank to tally the cash, but four malfunctioned due to the amount of cash to be counted, the report said.