China's auditing agencies have discovered more than 56.9 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion) misused in the first 11 months this year, the country's chief auditor Liu Jiayi said Monday.

Auditors across the country initiated investigation in more than 104,000 enterprises and agencies in the period, Liu said at a national year-end auditing conference.

As a result, about 837 cases and clues have been handed over to judicial or discipline departments, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 29, 2008)