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China’s top anti-corruption body has said it will step up its efforts to direct funds sent abroad by corrupt officials days after Canadian singer Wanting Qu demanded justice for her mother, who has been detained for six years on bribery charges.
In a Sunday morning post titled Overseas Is No Haven for Transfering Assets, the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection promised to punish money laundering and collect on all corruptly acquired assets.
The comment came days after Qu appealed for justice for his mother, Zhang Mingjie, a former deputy director of the development and reform office in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang province.
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Zhang was arrested in September 2014 and tried in 2016 and 2019 on charges of corruption, taking bribes, and embezzlement. Zhang has pleaded not guilty and a verdict in the case, which could carry the death penalty, has yet to be handed down.
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“It’s the sixth anniversary and there are no results yet,” Qu wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Tuesday. “[I] keep trying to keep faith in justice and believe that there is justice, law and blue sky ”.
The post caused a stir on Chinese social media, with many criticizing Qu for overlooking how his mother’s alleged crime resulted in hundreds of state-owned company employees being fired without adequate compensation.
Zhang was accused of selling a 2.3 billion yuan ($ 337 million) state farm for just 61.6 million yuan in a restructuring process.
It is also alleged that a company in which Zhang owned half the stake through her internal partner had fraudulently obtained 350 million yuan in compensation during the process, and she accused her of taking bribes worth 5 million yuan. yuan in person and 93 million with his partner.
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The CCDI statement cited a post by an unidentified internet user and read: “You have not returned to China for six years while your mother is in custody. Instead, she lives an easy life abroad on the stolen money. Is this filial piety? ”.
The CCDI also said that Qu’s post went viral because people hate the way corrupt officials harm the interests of the country and the people, while their own families profit from their ill-gotten gains.
The comment said that various party documents required officials to report their assets abroad and whether their spouses or children are abroad.
Public servants can also be jailed for up to two years for failing to report savings held abroad.
Two years ago, Wu Jianrong, former chairman of the Shanghai Airport Authority, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for taking bribes of more than 20 million yuan and reporting no more than HK $ 3 million (US $ 387,000) than his wife had in a bank. account in Hong Kong.
The comment said Chinese authorities have already extradited 7,831 fugitives from 120 different countries and recovered 19.6 billion yuan.
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“The crime of hiding savings abroad is a clear red line for public officials … They commit another crime if they deliberately transfer the illicit money abroad,” the comment read.
The comment also cited unidentified experts who suggested stricter oversight of officials sending funds abroad.
The mechanism for tracking and reporting large remittances from officials abroad can be extended to their spouses, children and other close relatives and reported to the disciplinary inspection and supervision body in a timely manner, according to the comment.
This article China’s anti-corruption watchdog promises to target foreign funds days after singer Wanting Qu pleaded for justice for the mother first appeared on the South China Morning Post
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