Corrupt coal official had 200 million yuan in cash stashed at home, prosecutors say
Seizure was biggest haul in a single anti-corruption operation since 1949
Investigators found more than 200 million yuan (HK$252 million) in local and foreign currency at the home of a mainland energy official - the biggest haul of corrupt cash since the establishment of the People's Republic.
It confirms media reports from earlier this year that Wei Pengyuan, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) coal department, was under investigation as part of the sweeping crackdown on corruption in the energy sector.
Wei was found to have bought several flats and used one of them to store the huge pile of cash, according to media reports. Investigators used 16 cash-counting machines to record the haul, and four of the machines broke down under the excessive workload, Caixin financial magazine reported.
"It marks the largest amount of money in cash we have seized from a corrupt official during a single operation since 1949," said Xu Jinhui , an official from the Supreme People's Procuratorate overseeing the handing of graft cases.
The scandal triggered heated discussion among microbloggers, with many saying it was impossible for an ordinary citizen with an average annual disposable income of 18,311 yuan to imagine such a stash.
The microbloggers estimated that the notes would weigh more than 2.3 tonnes.