China minimises missing lottery money reports

According to the authorities, reports circulating on social media about €17.1 billion missing are incorrect.

China.- A recent rumour saying corrupt officials had embezzled €17.1 billion of the China Welfare Lottery was downplayed by local authorities. Officials told the Chinese media that reports seen on social media were “incorrect” regarding the amount of money involved but they actually refused to disclose further information.

The authorities declined to specify how much money has been embezzled by corrupt officials and argued it would be “inconvenient” Chinese media outlet South China Morning Post reports. Nonetheless, while they tried to minimise the reports, their recent comments have lead to further speculation that the figure may be even higher than expected.

“Corruption in the lottery system has had a huge, irreparable impact… It is a sheer disaster,” the SCMP cited former deputy head of the lottery centre Feng Lizhi as saying in a video. The footage was released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), China’s most important anti-corruption watchdog, and showed four lottery officials “admitting” the corruption allegations.