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A corrupt coal official stashed 200 yuan in cash at his home. Photo: AFP

Corrupt coal official had 200 million yuan in cash stashed at home, prosecutors say

Seizure was biggest haul in a single anti-corruption operation since 1949

Andrea Chen

Investigators found more than 200 million yuan (HK$252 million) in local and foreign currency at the home of a mainland energy official - the biggest haul of corrupt cash since the establishment of the People's Republic.

It confirms media reports from earlier this year that Wei Pengyuan, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) coal department, was under investigation as part of the sweeping crackdown on corruption in the energy sector.

Wei was found to have bought several flats and used one of them to store the huge pile of cash, according to media reports. Investigators used 16 cash-counting machines to record the haul, and four of the machines broke down under the excessive workload, financial magazine reported.

"It marks the largest amount of money in cash we have seized from a corrupt official during a single operation since 1949," said Xu Jinhui , an official from the Supreme People's Procuratorate overseeing the handing of graft cases.

The scandal triggered heated discussion among microbloggers, with many saying it was impossible for an ordinary citizen with an average annual disposable income of 18,311 yuan to imagine such a stash.

The microbloggers estimated that the notes would weigh more than 2.3 tonnes.

Xu said Wei was one of 11 officials from the NDRC, the powerful economic policy planning agency, to face charges for bribery.

Other sacked officials from the commission include its former deputy chief Liu Tienan, who stood trial for having allegedly taken 36 million yuan in bribes.

"They are in charge of both policymaking and the approval of development projects. In other words, they decide how much profit an enterprise can make," Xu said.

As the price of coal surged, the NDRC's coal department, which issues licences for mines, became a high-risk area for corruption.

The top procuratorate had played a more active role in the country's anti-corruption drive this year, Xu said. It charged 35,633 officials with bribery in the first nine months of the year, a 5.6 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. Eight in 10 cases involve bribes of more than 50,000 yuan or embezzlement of over 100,000 yuan.

The procuratorate has also joined the hunt for corrupt officials who have fled abroad, with 502 of them tracked down between January and September this year.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: 200m yuan stashed at energy official’s home
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