960401

4 Chinese bankers

involved in $85.5m

fraud

BEIJING : Four senior Chinese bank managers have been charged in one of the nation's biggest corruption cases, a Hong Kong newspaper reported on Saturday.

The elaborate scheme involving fake credit card accounts, special bank transfers and other illegal transactions, resulted in the theft of more than 710 million yuan ($85.5 million) from a branch of the Bank of China in south China's Guangdong province, the Wen Wei Po reported.

A Macao couple, Chen Manxiong and Chen Qiuwei, also suspected in the scheme have fled, apparently taking nearly 400 million yuan ($48 million), according to the report.

The trial of Feng Weiquan, Chi Weiqi, Zheng Daoci, and Cai Hongzhang, all senior managers of the Zhongshan branch, opened on Friday in the Zhongshan Intermediate People's Court, the paper said, citing court officials.

Feng and Chi are charged with embezzlement and missapropriation of bank funds, while Zheng and Cai are on trial for dereliction of duty for failing to respond quickly when the crime was discovered, allowing the Macao couple to escape.

Feng and Chi stole more than 710 million yuan ($85.5 million) from the Zhongshan bank branch by writing account transfer slips, setting up fake credit card accounts and authorising other illegal transactions, the report said.

They needed the money to cover up credit card overdrafts and special bank transfers they made by forging the signatures of their Macao accomplices, according to officials. The report said the pair handled 51 illegal transactions from 1993 to 1995 to steal money that was used to engage in arbitrage and foreign currency speculation.

The court has recovered over 270 million yuan ($32.5 million), and frozen over 40.7 million yuan ($4.9 million) in bank deposits under the couple's name, the paper said.

The report described it as the largest case of embezzlement, stealing public funds and dereliction of duty since the Communists took power in 1949. That apparently refers only to corruption cases that have come to trial.

In Beijing, 18 officials are to be tried later this year for misappropriating funds worth up to $2.2 billion. -APA