China's National Audit Office (NAO) found misuse of funds totaling 9.06 billion yuan (about 110 million US dollars) in 38 government departments in 2004.
The figure represented six percent of all the funds put under audit, NAO auditor-general Li Jinghua said Tuesday in Beijing
when delivering a report on the performance of the central budget in
2004 and audit work of other fiscal revenues and expenditures to the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top
legislator.
Auditors found that 12 departments obtained from the central
government an extra of 491 million yuan (59 million dollars) in
budgeted funds through such malpractices as adding more people to
payrolls, submitting nonexistent projects and randomly raising budget
standards.
Li said that 26 departments misappropriated financial funds
totaling 1.07 billion yuan (129 million dollars) and 14 others
transferred financial funds totaling 935 million yuan (113 million
dollars) to their subordinate departments or other relevant
organizations.
Other malpractice, according to Li, include putting away funds
in "small exchequer" and misuse of funds earmarked for special
projects.
Some government departments even diverted funds originally
budgeted for special projects into building homes and offices, he
added.
By August of last year, the State Reserves Administration had
reserve materials totaling 1.4 billion yuan (169 million dollars) that
had been borrowed out before 1994 but not returned, according to the
report.
And also by the end of 2004, China had appropriated 266
million yuan (32 million dollars) in reserve funds for the purchase of
Chinese medicinal herbs, 227 million yuan (27 million dollars) of which
was either missing or misappropriated.
Source: Xinhua