China says billions missing from public funds

State company czars and other top officials in China have been found to have indulged in luxuries like buying fancy cars and other consumer durables at state expense.

The country's national auditor is saying that officials stole or misused a staggering $34.4 billion this year after a nation-wide audit was conducted, official news agency Xinhua reported.

But now the authorities are cutting down hard. Over 1,068 people including government officials have been handed over to disciplinary or judicial authorities for their roles in the missing funds, the agency said.

"Embezzlement, waste of money and false fiscal reporting still existed in central departments, despite some improvements," Xinhua quoted Liu Jiayi, the country's chief auditor, as saying at a conference.

With such a huge amount going missing from public funds, an alarmed Prime Minister Wen Jiabao told auditors to crack down hard on embezzlers.

Misconduct included unauthorized purchase of cars and other consumer durables by government officials and agencies, Liu said at the conference.