Latest Gov't Audit Finds State-Owned Enterprises Wasted 12.7 billion yuan

(Beijing) – Embezzling of funds and abuse of power by executives at several top state-owned companies have led to the loss of billions of yuan in taxpayers' money, a report released by the National Audit Office on June 29 shows.

Auditors found 51 cases where public funds had been misappropriated, mostly through fraud or by flouting company rules when lending, resulting in toxic debt. There were some instances where executives violated austerity rules laid out by the ruling Communist Party for its officials. The report says, overall, 12.7 billion yuan, or US$1.9 billion, was lost due to these irregularities.