Chinese Officials Looted $120bn Public Funds In 13 Years - Report

China‘s Central Bank has issued a report saying thousands of corrupt Chinese officials stole more than $123 billion (N192,864,003,602,519.69) and fled overseas between 1995 and 2008.

The report also said the United States was a top destination for the looted funds, the Associated Press reports.
The report, released this week by the People‘s Bank of China, says between 16,000 to 18,000 government officials and executives at state-owned enterprises smuggled about 800 billion yuan ($123 billion) out of China within the period.
The study says the officials smuggled money into the US, Australia, Canada and Holland, using offshore bank accounts or investments such as real estate or collectibles. Officials masked the thefts as business transactions by setting up private companies to receive the money transfers, according to the report.
China has launched numerous efforts in recent years to curb graft, which is often a focal point of protests by ordinary Chinese and is seen as a major threat to political stability. But corruption among Communist Party officials is still common.
The report warned that the corruption was serious enough to threaten China‘s economic and political stability.
It said that aside from punishing guilty officials, China should improve monitoring of asset transfers and revise methods of payment overseas.
Chinese prosecutors have made some high-profile takedowns in hopes of deterring graft among the rank and file. In China‘s largest recent corruption scandal, the powerful party boss of Shanghai, Chen Liangyu, was sentenced in 2008 to 18 years in prison.-punch

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