China sentences former BOC banker to 15 years in jail

HARBIN - A Chinese bank executive was sentenced to 15 years in prison for embezzlement by a court in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Friday.

Harbin Intermediate People's Court convicted Gao Shan, former head of a sub-branch of Bank of China (BOC) in the city, of embezzlement of over 800 million yuan (about 129 million U.S. dollars).

The court said that between 2000 and 2004, Gao collaborated with other suspects in transferring the bank's money to the accounts of fake or shell companies controlled by prime suspects Li Dongzhe and Li Donghu.

The case was exposed accidentally. Staff from a highway construction company and the Jilin Provincial Higher People's Court came to Gao's bank to transfer 320 million yuan from an account at the end of 2004 and were unsuccessful due to the bank's lack of funds. Gao and the two prime suspects were afraid the case would be exposed and fled to Canada.

Gao later turned himself in to Chinese police in 2012.

Gao concealed his "naked official" status, a term for officials who send their spouses and children abroad, before the theft came to light.

A staff member handling the case said "naked officials" like Gao are more prone to corruption as they can easily escape to foreign countries. Gao's case also reveals the weakness of supervision in the banking sector, he added.

China has tightened its crackdown on "naked officials." The selection and appointment regulations issued in January by the CPC said naked officials will not be considered for promotion.