China punished 589,000 people for graft in nine months

CHINA’S anti-graft agency punished 589,000 people in the first nine months of the year for discipline violations, including accepting or offering bribery.

There were 53 ministerial-level, or equivalent, officials among those punished, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said a statement on its website on Saturday (Oct 26).

A total of 2,972 cases were transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation, according to the commission.

China’s latest sweeping anti-corruption campaign has implicated a record number of senior officials for two straight years, with a focus on the finance industry.

The authorities have labelled some bankers as “hedonistic” and have created a new financial corruption work committee, indicating a push for more permanent oversight of the sector. BLOOMBERG