Anti-graft inspectors are trying to keep suspects from fleeing to safety overseas
Anti-graft inspectors are confiscating suspects' passports to prevent them from fleeing abroad in the latest effort to curb widespread corruption among senior officials.
The travel documents of many senior officials have been seized by inspectors from the Central Commission for Disciplinary Inspection, the Communist Party's anti-graft body. The seizures began during their recent unannounced visits to several provinces and cities.
The crackdown was reported in the latest issue of the China News Weekly magazine. The report said the inspectors would be sent to other provinces and cities nationwide, and possibly to Hong Kong and Macau, to investigate cadres with government administrative units and organisations.
In recent years, countries including the United States, Canada and Australia have become safe havens for corrupt mainland officials and their relatives. They often have more than one Chinese or foreign passport, and have been able to flee the country relatively easily.
In many cases reported in the mainland media, officials have taken millions of yuan embezzled on the mainland and used it in the west to buy luxurious mansions and cars or to pay for their children's education.
