National auditors recover billions of misused funds

By Lydia Chen  |   2008-12-29  |     ONLINE EDITION

CHINA'S auditing authorities have recovered nearly 27 billion yuan ($US394.7 million) of public funds misused or embezzled by government officials while 290 people have been handed over to prosecutors, the head of the country's top auditing office said today.

The money, a total of 26.773 billion yuan, was recovered up to October this year, Liu Jiayi, Auditor General of the National Audit Office said at a conference in Beijing this morning

A total of 64 officials and 226 people have been referred to judicial and disciplinary departments over discipline breaches, Liu said.

The office carried out a nationwide audit on more than 24,000 government officials from January to November along with audit on four provincial governors and former heads of 12 state-owned companies over their financial responsibilities, Liu said.

The audit also targeted more than 104,000 units across the country, which saved over 56.9 billion yuan as of November this year, Liu added.

Audit offices around the country also handed 837 pieces of information or clues to discipline and prosecutor authorities, Liu said.