Explainer | Here are 3 anti-corruption tools in China’s arsenal that may be underutilised
- Owning ill-gotten homes and hoarding stockpiles of cash is getting harder in China as privacy wanes and transparency reigns
- China’s graft-busters are putting corrupt officials on notice with eye-opening checks and balances
China’s anti-corruption storm is raging on, with dozens of state bank executives and financial cadres investigated so far this year, while government officials and managers of state-owned enterprises have come under greater scrutiny in terms of their family assets and business conduct.
In addition to an annual asset-declaration mechanism, here are some unconventional tools that China’s discipline inspectors and prosecutors could wield in their graft-busting gambit.
1. Digital yuan
Although it is mainly designated for small retail payments such as paying utilities or ordering a cup of coffee, it can actually be used in other scenarios such as cross-border trade, corporate spending, payrolls and bank loans.
“The traceability of the digital currency can be used to effectively deter and combat payment deductions and corruption,” Hong Yong, a fellow with the Ministry of Commerce’s research institute, said last year.