China's National Audit Office (CNAO) released information on
corruption within one of China's biggest banks and a number of
government bodies on Tuesday, alongside the results of an audit of
the SARS prevention fund.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the nation's
biggest state-owned lender, punished 368 officials and employees
and dismissed 42 others after a probe by China's top auditor
revealed irregularities involving 6.9 billion yuan (US$833.7
million), the CNAO said.
The audit office found problems in its billing, consumer lending
and loans to local governments and private companies after an
eight-month inspection of 21 subsidiaries.
"Some branches only sought short-term interest at the cost of
the bank's long-term development," the audit agency said. "Others
ignored risk control while blindly expanding their business."
The CNAO said that in one case, 110 million yuan was illegally
withdrawn from an ICBC branch. Elsewhere, 1 billion yuan in
corporate loans ended up in individual saving accounts. It said a
portion of that money was illegally transferred abroad.
China is stepping up monitoring of state-owned banks, part of a
government effort to strengthen lenders ahead of greater
competition with overseas rivals. ICBC has lagged behind the Bank of
China and the China
Construction Bank in shedding bad loans and reorganizing into
companies eligible for listing.
The audit report adds to an avalanche of cases of embezzlement,
fraudulent loans and other wrongdoing that have heavily cost
state-owned banks.
The Ministry
of Land and Resources and its subsidiaries were also found to
have diverted 63.07 million yuan (US$7.6 million) for wages,
bonuses and expenses between 2000 and 2003.
Meanwhile, 4.18 million yuan in fees charged by the State Bureau
of Surveying and Mapping were not promptly turned over to the
central government, according to an audit of its 2003 finances.
Between July and August of 2003, the CNAO launched a nationwide
audit of SARS budgets and distribution of social donations.
Thanks to rigid supervision, the report said, the overall use
and management of government money and social donations were good
and there were no major cases of embezzlement discovered.
Nevertheless, some minor irregularities were found during the
audit in connection to donations and distribution. Those
irregularities were straightened out after audit, said the
report.
The CNAO has instituted a mechanism for the periodic release of
its auditing reports, which have drawn much attention from the
public and media alike in China.
They recovered some 14.82 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) last
year after auditing more than 130,000 public units throughout the
country.
(China Daily, Eastday.com November 3, 2004)