As part of its ongoing crackdown on corrupt officials, the Chinese government has outed more than 3,200 so-called "naked" officials and demoted 1,000 of them.

The tern "naked officials" refers to senior government officials who use their own families as mules to transfer their pilfered assets by sending them overseas. This is often done prior to the corrupt official fleeing the country.

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At the county level and above, China estimates that there are more than 3,200 of these "naked officials," reports China state news agency Xinhua. Of this lot, 1,000 were identified as officials holding key positions, and whose families refuse to return to China. These officials were demoted, according to the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Monday.

Personnel departments nationwide have confronted the "naked officials," giving them an ultimatum to choose between accepting less sensitive posts and bringing their families back to China. Naked officials who refuse to play ball with the government face discipline and are subject to being monitored by personnel departments on a regular basis in the future.

The government started its crackdown on naked officials back in February, and said the corrupt officials would likely steal sizeable amounts and would be difficult to track down once they left the country. These officials are banned from promotions and from "important and sensitive" posts in areas like the military, diplomacy and national security.

China's southern Guangdong Province drafted a law in October banning naked officials from holding important positions.

It's not uncommon for Chinese officials to have family overseas for legitimate reasons. China's President Xi Jinping has a daughter who is currently enrolled at Harvard University in the U.S. However,  the "naked" term refers to civil servants who have sent their families overseas allegedly with stolen property.

A report by the Ministry of Commerce found that between 1978 and 2003 an estimated 4,000 corrupt officials have fled the country with at least $50 billion.

TagsChina Demotes 1000 Naked Officials, China Exposes 3200 Naked Officials, Zhou Bin, Graft, Naked Officials