China's top auditor says major state banks have committed tax evasion or lending violations

Bank of China evaded paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax while Agricultural Bank of China illegally issued 11 billion yuan in loans to farmland projects, says China's top audit body.

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BEIJING: Two of China's top state-owned banks, which are among the world's largest financial institutions, have evaded billions of yuan in tax and issued illegal loans, according to the country's top audit body, underscoring Beijing's ‌intensified scrutiny amid fiscal pressures.

The Bank of China, one of the nation's "big four" lenders, evaded paying 2.4 billion yuan (US$352 million) in tax between April 2023 and August 2025, an annual report by the National Audit Office on Tuesday (Jun 23) showed.

The bank, which controls trillions of dollars in assets, enlisted its employees to contribute between one and 100 yuan each to package 11 private equity funds as public funds, allowing them to qualify for tax exemptions, the auditor said.

While China's audit office reports tax-related irregularities annually, it is rare for it to publicly single out a major state-owned lender for tax evasion.

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The report also accused Agricultural Bank of China, another "big four" institution, of illegally issuing 11 billion yuan in loans to farmland projects between December 2021 and August 2025.

Some of those funds were misappropriated to buy wealth management products and repay debt, the report said.

AFP has contacted the banks for comment.

Bank of China said it "sincerely accepts the audit supervision" and promised to improve its compliance capabilities, in comments reported by local media.

China Everbright Group, another state-backed financial firm, was also criticised by the report for management failings.

By August 2025, the group lacked control over several of its subsidiaries, while some companies abused the Everbright brand, the report said.

The findings come as China's local governments face revenue shortages following a prolonged property downturn, prompting Beijing to ramp up tax enforcement efforts targeting both corporations and high-income individuals.

Social media users expressed shock that one of the country's largest banks, run by the state, had been failing to pay its dues.

"Whose pockets did the stolen tax go into?" one user asked, while others called for fines and recovering the funds.

"If one bank has evaded 2.4 billion (yuan), then what about others?" another wrote.

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