Former deputy: ‘It’s a disaster’
Chinese authorities are refuting claims that corrupt lottery officials have skimmed off receipts of about RMB136 billion (US$19.5 billion), funds that are earmarked for social programs. Those figures first popped up on social media; the government says they are inflated, but has declined to specify the actual amount that may have been embezzled, saying it would be “inconvenient.”
Earlier this month, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection released a video of four lottery officials admitting to theft after being arrested for corruption last year.
According to the South China Morning Post, in the video former lottery deputy Feng Lizhi said, “Corruption in the lottery system has had a huge, irreparable impact. It is a sheer disaster.” The video was played at a meeting of the Ministry of Civil Affairs as a warning for wrongdoers, reported Asia Gaming Brief.
China’s two state lotteries, the Sports Lottery and the Welfare Lottery, generate about RMB400 billion (US$54.6 billion) a year in annual sales. Beijing imposed a ban on online lottery ticket sales in 2015 amid allegations of widespread corruption.
The China Daily reported that two officials of the China Welfare Lottery Management Center, Bao Xuequan and Wang Suying, are under investigation for suspected embezzlement of funds. Their predecessor, Chen Chuanshu, was disciplined last summer for failing to supervise Bao when the latter served as his deputy. A total of 14 officials are reportedly under investigation
The Daily reported that the system is getting “increasing flak on micro blogs, with many netizens saying they won’t buy CWL lotteries any more. Feng is right—the damage their corruption has caused to the lottery system can never be overestimated. Judging from what Feng and his colleagues have said in the videos, they all knew it was a crime to embezzle the lottery funds, yet they still indulged in corruption.”
