Top official at China’s central bank disciplined for paying for banquets, holiday with public money
Assistant governor Yang Ziqiang partly used the cash for trip to Qingdao with his family, anti-graft agency says
A top official at the People’s Bank of China has received a disciplinary warning from the Communist Party’s top anticorruption agency for using public funds to pay for banquets and other holiday expenses two years ago.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection announced details of the misconduct by Yang Ziqiang, one of three assistant governors at the People’s Bank of China, on Sunday. Yang’s naming and shaming, a rare occurrence at China’s central bank, comes at a critical time as the country’s financial regulatory regime is going through a reshuffle. A key national financial meeting is imminent to reshape China’s regulatory system and jockeying for key positions is already under way.
Yang spent 14,473 yuan (HK$16,800) of public funds on banquets and accommodation during a personal holiday in the port city of Qingdao in Shandong province two years ago, the commission said.
Yang was one of six government officials criticised by the commission in a public notice on Sunday for offences including misuse of public funds and embezzlement.
The party’s internal warning, the least severe of five internal disciplinary punishments, could be used to deprive an official of the chance of promotion.
Yang spent the Dragon Boat Festival public holiday in Qingdao at the end of May and into June two years ago with his family at a training centre run by the central bank’s branch in the city, the statement said.
