Friday, February 1, 2008

China crackdown on Olympic graft

" ... A total of 38 people were arrested in Beijing last year in a crackdown on corruption related to the 2008 Olympics, state media reported yesterday.

Altogether 15 graft cases involving the Games were detected in 2007 and were under investigation by the authorities, the Beijing News said.

Eight cases and 14 people were already before the courts to answer graft charges, the newspaper quoted the city’s chief prosecutor Mu Pinghuan as saying.

Mu said the prosecution was determined to administer swift and effective justice on Olympic cases, reflecting the high priority China has put on hosting a clean Games.

Corruption is a major problem in China that affects most areas of life but Beijing’s communist party chief Liu Qi, who also heads the Beijing Olympic organising committee, has stressed the multi-billion dollar Games must be graft-free.

Last year he said the Aug 8-24 Games must be run in an “open and transparent” manner, ordering stepped up audits and inspections on Olympic-related activities.”

Despite Mu’s pledge of swift justice, the highest profile Olympic graft case so far has yet to come to court.

Liu Zhihua, a former vice mayor of Beijing, was fired in June 2006 amid allegations of massive graft concerning Olympic venues which cost more than one billion dollars to build. ... "

~ From 'China arrests 38 for graft related to the Olympics' ~

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment