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Wealth from power

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-21 08:20

A bank outlet manager from a powerful family easily borrowed huge sums of money from a number of local depositors. This shows how an "alliance of power" results in corruption, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Li Qun, the head of an outlet of the Agricultural Bank of China's Fuyang branch, was said to have borrowed more than 100 million yuan from more than 100 creditors over the past several years. The biggest sum was estimated to be more than 20 million yuan, said Chinese Radio Network on Monday.

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It is unbelievable that the head of just a bank outlet can easily borrow such a large sum of money. Some of the receipts she gave to the creditors do not even have her seals. Why did the depositors trust her so much? It is simply because of the powerful family behind her. Her father was once the secretary of a county Party committee; her husband the deputy head of the publicity department as well as the chief of administration bureau of radio, film and television in the city government of Fuyang; her brother a section chief in local procuratorate; and, her brother-in-law the head of the local tourism bureau.

Even though the depositors knew clearly that it was an illegal practice for her in her capacity as the head of the bank outlet to borrow money from them, they believed that the power of Li's family could guarantee them a high rate of interest, which is 25 percent a year. The powerful family background beguiled them into putting their money in the personal account of Li Qun without hesitation. The "market value" of this powerful family seems to be worth at least 100 million yuan.

Absolute power leads to absolute corruption. This case is a typical example of how audacious a person from a powerful family can be in illegally acquiring wealth by taking advantage of his or her family background. It also shows how power attracts people. Behind this case lies the question of how we should prevent power from getting concentrated in the hands of certain families or within particular groups of people.