Companies illegally obtain subsidies, loans
China's State auditor said on Monday it uncovered in an audit conducted from January to March widespread irregularities that took place in the country's affordable housing program in 2014, including the misuse of 9.4 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) of funds.
The problems were uncovered after auditing 182 projects, local government financing vehicles, housing and finance departments, the National Audit Office (NAO) said in a report on its website.
The funds were misappropriated to pay salaries, office expenses and bank loans and invest in wealth management products, it said.
Some companies illegally obtained 485 million yuan worth of government subsidies and bank loans for the affordable housing program by fabricating documents, the NAO said. The funds were actually used to build dormitories and offices.
The auditor also found that 20,600 home owners did not qualify for affordable housing as they used fake documents in their applications.
The central and local governments allocated 560.2 billion yuan for the affordable housing program in 2014, including 198.4 billion yuan from the central government, the report said.
Nearly 1.1 trillion yuan in investment was made via bank loans, bond issues and other funding channels, the NAO said.
First approved in 1999, the program aims to provide cheaper housing to low-income families and improve living standards.
The government has been expanding the affordable housing program to help address widening income disparities and provide support for the slowing economy.
Chinese policymakers have told banks to step up lending to support government projects under construction, especially urban subway systems and affordable housing.
The government said in June that it would extend 149.4 billion yuan in subsidies for renovating dilapidated urban houses this year, under a three-year plan to renovate 18 million such units and 10.6 million rural houses.
