32 corrupt officials at ministerial level and above investigated, says prosecutor

The Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Tuesday it has investigated 32 corrupt officials at the ministerial level and above over the past five years.

Cao Jianming, chief prosecutor, said 13,368 officials at the county level and above were probed for graft between January 2008 and late August this year.

About 167,000 people were charged with embezzlement and bribery, and 148,931 were convicted, he said.

He made the remarks while delivering a report on the top procuratorate's work against embezzlement and bribery at the ongoing bimonthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, which runs from Monday to Friday.

Among those investigated in graft cases, 65,629 civil servants have been investigated for taking bribes, while 23,246 people were investigated for offering bribes, Cao said.

The number of bribe takers between 2008 and 2013 has increased by 19.5 percent compared with the previous five years, while the number of people who offered bribes has increased by 60.4 percent, he said.

Cao said that the procuratorate has prevented an estimated 37.7 billion yuan ($6.16 billion) of economic losses through investigating the cases.

The anti-graft agencies have paid special attention to several key sectors, including land use, property transactions, pharmaceutical sales, government purchases and public infrastructure projects, Cao said.

About 32.1 percent of graft cases probed by the prosecutors were initially exposed by whistle-blowers, while the other cases were established by the prosecutors, transferred by the supervision authorities or confessed to by the suspects themselves, Cao said.

The procuratorate will continue to strike hard against embezzlement and bribery, targeting both "tigers" and "flies" (senior and low level corrupt officials), Cao said.

It is the first report from the Supreme People's Procuratorate to be delivered to the NPC for 24 years.

Zhao Yibo, a journalist and commentator, said that the procuratorate's report has reflected the central government's determination to fight graft.

A number of senior officials have been investigated on allegations of bribery and embezzlement since the Party's new leaders were elected in November 2012.

In a statement released last week, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said it has placed 129 officials at the department level or higher under investigation for suspected corruption and bribery in the first eight months of this year.

In the latest case, Ji Jianye was removed from his post as mayor of Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, for suspected serious disciplinary violations, Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

Apart from Ji, the other recently investigated ministerial-level officials include: Liu Tienan, former deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission; Ni Fake, former vice-governor of Anhui province; and Li Daqiu, a senior political advisor from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Zhao Yinan contributed to this story.