82lbs of gold discovered at Chinese Communist Party official’s home
Some 82lbs (37kg) of gold and 120 million yuan ($19.5 million) in cash has been discovered in the home of a Chinese Communist Party official. The discovery has been termed “shocking” by China’s state news agency.
The official, Ma Chaoqun, used to manage the Beidaihe Water Supply Corporation, which had nearly 200 employees, according to an anonymous government source who spoke to China Daily.
“The amount of money involved in these cases is huge and it happened among the people,” Xinhua said. “The social influence is bad and the masses have reacted strongly.”
Ma has been accused of bribery, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Hebei, according to the Beijing News.
The investigation into his private matters affairs was launched in February, and he was officially fired on February 18.
However, Ma’s case is taking place in the midst of a mass crackdown on corruption in the ranks of Chinese officials, with Chinese President Xi Jinping targeting “tigers” – high ranking corrupt officials – and “flies” alike.
In another stash-of-cash case, prosecutors announced last month that around 200 million yuan had been found hoarded at the home of Wei Pengyuan, a former National Energy Administration official.
