“Tiger hunt” in China: officials’ family income and expenses to be audited

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has decided to significantly tighten audits on the assets and actual expenditures of leaders within the party and state administration systems. According to the new regulations published on the official portal of the PRC government, the oversight will not be limited to the officials themselves but will fully extend to their close relatives.

With this move, Beijing is entering the most stringent phase of its anti-corruption campaign to prevent illegal enrichment and abuse of office.

New rules: Who will be audited and how?

Based on the adopted document, the system for declaring personal information and assets of executive personnel will be fundamentally improved:

• If expenses exceed official income — an audit is inevitable: In all cases where the actual expenses, real estate, or assets of an official or their family members are significantly higher than their legal income, special investigations will be launched immediately;

• Strict control over relatives' businesses: The document specifically stipulates that systematic control will be established over the entrepreneurial activities conducted by the spouses, children, as well as sons-in-law and daughters-in-law of state and party employees;

• Putting an end to shadow assets: This measure aims to stop the practice of registering funds obtained through corruption in the names of family members or various business structures.

“Corruption is a tiger blocking the road”: Xi Jinping’s position

Since the first days of coming to power, PRC President Xi Jinping has been known for his uncompromising fight against bribery:

• Tigers and flies: In his speeches, the Chinese leader has repeatedly compared corruption to a “predatory tiger” that blocks the path of the country's development;

• Corrupt officials without shelter: Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that corrupt officials and those involved in graft should be left with no shelter or possibility of escape, and this latest regulation is a practical expression of that political will.