Wang Zhaowen, spokesperson for Bank of China (BOC) made a speech on Feb.6 on the issue concerning the U.S. Department of Justice's charge against the Bank's corrupt officials involved in the Kaiping corruption case. Wang said BOC had noticed the reports from home and abroad on the appeal made by the US Justice Department against Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun, former managers of BOC's Kaiping Branch and their relatives with 15 counts including money laundering, racketeering and passport and visa fraud. “The clampdown on money laundering and corruption is common responsibility of all the countries and regions in the world. BOC supports the U.S. indictment against key suspects in the Kaiping case and will actively cooperate", he said.
He introduced that the Kaiping corruption case was exposed in October 2001 when BOC was gathering data information of the whole bank in a scientific way. Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and Xu Guojun, the three former managers of Kaiping Branch acted in collusion from inside and outside of the bank, and stole and embezzled a huge amount of bank funds by using the loophole that existed in the Bank’s internal capital transfer system. They fled to Canada and the United States via Hong Kong after their crime was discovered. BOC reported the case to the police; took all measures possible to investigate and intercept the transferred fund involved and brought the civil lawsuit against them in accordance with local laws in Hong Kong, the U.S. and Canada at the same time; and gave full support to the law enforcement departments of China to pursue and capture the escaped suspects. The U.S. side handed over Yu Zhendong, one of the main corrupt official of the case, to China on April 16, 2004.
Recently, the US Justice Department charged Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun, former managers of BOC's Kaiping Branch and their relatives with 15 counts including money laundering, racketeering and passport and visa fraud. It is an successful cooperation between law enforcement departments of the two countries and an important progress in investigating and settling the case. BOC will cooperate with international law enforcement departments to punish criminals, spare no efforts to recover the stolen funds, safeguard the sanctity of law, and maintain the safety of the country's economy and finance.
The spokesperson said, after the joint-stock reform, the Bank had strengthened construction of internal control, completed the rules and regulations, and improved scientific and technological surveillance. BOC will learn from this lesson, and further strengthen internal control systems in accordance with sound corporate governance to ensure the safety of banking assets and promote the healthy development of the Bank.
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