$18 Million in Bribes: The Double Life of a Chinese Financial Official

A mid-level official at China’s foreign exchange watchdog allegedly amassed 120 million yuan ($18 million) in bribes while living a cinematic double life — even renting a dilapidated home to hide his wealth from his superiors, according to an internal warning film and sources familiar with the matter.

Zhang Cheng, a former division director at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, was detained by graft-busters in late 2024. His decades-long deception marks one of the largest and most bizarre corruption cases within the central bank system.