Authorities unveil nationwide pension audit

The government announced a nationwide audit of locally managed pension funds Wednesday in the wake of the escalating scandal surrounding the misuse of pension funds in Shanghai. All local governments apart from those in Shanghai and Tibet were informed of the audits last month, the National Audit Office said, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. A top level investigation is underway in Shanghai involving the illegal channeling of at least one third of the city's US$1.25 billion pension fund into real estate and other infrastructure investments. Shanghai's labor chief, a district governor and several prominent businessmen are all currently subject to questioning over alleged "severe violations" of Communist Party rules. It was reported Wednesday that Wu Minglie, chairman of Shanghai property developer the New Huangpu Group had also been detained for questioning by authorities.