The trial opened on Tuesday of four former bank officials
charged in connection with China's largest ever bank theft
involving 50.95 million yuan.
Zhang Xizhong, former deputy head of the Handan branch of the
Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and three executives for cash
management and accounting, are charged with "severe breach of duty"
that caused "huge economic losses for the country".
The People's Court of Congtai District in Handan, Hebei
Province, heard that the four failed to inspect the bank's vault
and accounts in March and April when former vault managers Ren
Xiaofeng and Ma Xiangjing stole the money and spent it on lottery
tickets.
Zhang is alleged to have failed to fulfil his obligations as
required by the bank's regulations to inspect the vault between
Oct. 23, 2004, and April 17, 2007; An Changhai and Li Yanxiao, two
executives for the bank's cash management section, allegedly failed
to inspect the vault in March and April; and Cheng Hongying, a bank
accounting executive, is charged with failing to verify a false
deposit by Ren which was intended to conceal the theft of the
cash.
Ren and Ma were given death penalties at the Handan Municipal
Intermediate People's Court after the first-instance hearing in
August, which was upheld by the Hebei Provincial Higher People's
Court at the second-instance hearing in September.
The trial continues.
(Xinhua News Agency November 7, 2007)