Chinese government departments embezzled, misused or mismanaged billions of dollars last year, the nation's auditor said in an annual report that often leads to a slew of graft charges.

The tax office, the education and commerce ministries, and the department responsible for censoring China's television programs were among the government organs found to have been found guilty of misusing public money.

In his report delivered to parliament yesterday, Auditor General Liu Jiayi said 14 central government officials had already been detained for their roles in embezzling or misusing 4.52 billion yuan ($769.5 million).

Another 41.7 billion yuan ($7 billion) had been mismanaged, according to the report that was published on the audit office's website and carried prominently in the state-run press today.

Among other major findings, an audit of nine major financial institutions linked to the government, including the Agricultural Bank of China, showed 14.2 billion yuan had been used illegally, the China Daily newspaper said.

The investigations into the finance sector had led to 140 suspects being handed over to judicial authorities for prosecution.

China's state auditor is required by law to audit the government's central budget, which includes the transfer of payments to the regions, official investments and use of social security funds.

President Hu Jintao has repeatedly acknowledged that corruption is one of the greatest threats to the legitimacy of the ruling Communist Party.

The government regularly announces major crackdowns on graft in official ranks, such as the audit office report, in an effort to show the population that efforts are being made to extinguish corruption.

Nevertheless, corruption within the government and society in general remains a major problem for China.

AFP