China officials steal €84bn

THOUSANDS of corrupt Chinese officials have stolen almost €84bn and fled overseas since the mid-1990s, the central bank says.

Between 16,000 to 18,000 government officials and executives at state-owned enterprises smuggled about 800 billion yuan out of China between the mid-’90s and 2008.

The People’s Bank of China study says the officials smuggled money into the US, Australia, Canada and Holland, using offshore bank accounts.