China has marked more than 1,000 politicians in Guangdong Province as "naked officials," or those suspected of storing ill-gotten wealth with their family abroad, as part of its recent campaign against corruption.

Xinhua news agency cited an anonymous official source saying 866 of the suspected officials have already been relieved of their posts, nine of which previously held mayoral positions. Around 200 have requested to bring back their families to China in exchange of maintaining their current posts, CNN relayed.

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Many government officials in China have family members staying abroad. President Xi Jinping's daughter is currently studying at Harvard University.

The term "naked officials" refer to civil servants who have used ill-gotten wealth to send their family members overseas. Transferring their money and family to another country is a common move that officials make prior to their personal flight.

According to a Ministry of Commerce report cited by the English-language China Daily, around 4,000 officials have left China with $50 billion from 1978 to 2003.

Although the names of the implicated officials in Guangdong were not publicized, Xinhua said 127 of those demoted hail from Dongguan. The latter is a place often called "sin city" because of its thriving prostitution rings. Another 128 from Jiangmen have also been demoted.

Guangzhou Party Committee deputy chief Fang Xuan is among those who have lost their position from the corruption crackdown. Xinhua said Fang had filed for retirement five months ahead of schedule after he was exposed as a "naked official."

Meanwhile, Chinese netizens doubt that this anti-graft move would work. According to Weibo user Qin Qianhong, the campaign just serves to agitate smaller goons and allows "tigers" to move their headquarters to another place.

Since 2013, Presiden Xi has vowed to renew the stained image of the Communist Party. He had pledged to launch anti-corruption campaigns that will target both minor and top officials in the country.

Critics, however, reason that Xi's anti-graft programs are just Xi's own way of eliminating his political opponents.

Just this year, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists had reported that relatives of both present and previous Chinese officials hold shares in offshore firms. They have allegedly stored billions' worth of ill-gotten gains. The report also detailed the assets held by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's two children.