Thousands of Chinese officials facing charges of corruption amounting to billions of dollars have vanished without a trace to escape inquiries and punishment, official media reported today.
A report released by China's central bank in June 2011 said that the number of officials and senior executives of state-owned companies that were missing or had fled overseas had reached 16,000 to 18,000 since the middle of 1990s, state-run Global Times reported.
These officials were reported to have fled with 80 billion yuan (USD 13.09 billion), it said adding that the author of the report later claimed that the figures used in the report were inaccurate.
Listing the names of various officials who fled the country it said "the one certainty is that the number of officials leaving, and the amount of money taken with them, represent huge figures".
"Making matters worse, loopholes in supervision systems have enabled officials to become aware of when they are likely to be investigated," it said.
Lin Zhe, an anti-corruption expert at the Party School of the ruling Communist Party told the Global Times that the lack of confidentiality when investigations are being conducted provide opportunities for these officials to be alerted.
"It may be caused by accidental leaks," Lin said.
"But some officials who have connections with the subjects of investigations are leaking secrets intentionally as they can shirk their responsibilities and avoid being penalised," he said.
Li Yongzhong, an anti-corruption expert and deputy director at China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Institute, said in a report in The Beijing News today that restricting officials going abroad requires approvals and coordination from judicial departments, which can be a time-consuming process.
"For suspicious officials, such as those who are frequently reported by citizens, authorities should strengthen control over them and restrict them from going abroad," Lin said.
