China's top disciplinary body warned of corruption risks after finishing inspections at 31 state entities on Thursday, including around 20 centrally-governed financial institutions.
The Communist Party of China (CPC)'s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) kicked off the third round of inspections in 2015 covering several central government organs, such as the Ministry of Education and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and major financial institutions including the central bank, securities regulators, state-owned banks and insurance companies last October.
Major problems plaguing the entities uncovered through the inspections include corruption, weakening of the Party's leadership, and procedural violations in personnel selection and placement, according to the findings released by the CCDI on Thursday.
CORRUPTION RISKS
During the inspection at the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the team dispatched by the CCDI discovered loopholes in its mechanisms for preventing corruption risks and conflicts of interest, which are likely to breed corruption, said a CCDI statement.
The inspection uncovered problems of interests tunneling and seeking personal gains through abuse of powers in China Construction Bank. "Corruption risks exist in centralized purchasing and financial management," the statement said.
The inspection team dispatched to China Life, the country's largest insurer, found that "the company's local branches frequently violate laws and regulations," and "the discipline violations around the public, like fundraising fraud, had a bad impact."
Some leading cadres in the NBS were found "seeking personal gains through abuse of powers including data fabrication," said the statement.
Wang Baoan, head of the NBS, was put under investigation for "severe disciplinary violation," the CCDI announced last month.
The inspection discovered corruption risks in the Executive Office of the Three Gorges Project Construction Committee of the State Council, due to poor supervision over the implementation of its follow-up projects. Also, tunneling of interests is also suspected to exist in excess project outsourcing.
The findings showed that over half of the inspected entities, including the People's Bank of China, the central bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Ministry of Education as well as China Banking Regulatory Commission, have been involved in violating the CPC's frugality code.
WEAKENING OF THE PARTY'S LEADERSHIP
The inspections found that weakening of the party's leadership is a general problem.
The statement said the Communist Youth League Central Committee "has not studied the spirit of the CPC's conference on improving mass organizations in-depth and translated it into daily work... has not resolutely carried out reforms and innovation through concrete measures..."
Mass organizations represent people from different lines of work or age groups, such as trade unions, youth leagues and women's groups.
The CPC committee of CITIC Group Corporation, a major financial conglomerate, was found "talking about business too much while seldom talking about the Party."
The Party committee of China Investment Corp does not attach enough importance to Party building, and has not given its leading role full play, according to the statement.
