Funds to the tune of nearly 10 billion yuan (US$1.61 billion) have been swindled in China's trillion yuan affordable housing programs while more than 40,000 unqualified households reaped the benefits, the national auditor said yesterday.

The National Audit Office revealed that 7.83 billion yuan of designated fund for affordable housing construction was embezzled in 2013 to finance irrelevant projects like construction of infrastructure and industrial parks.

Another 1.54 billion yuan for shantytown renovation projects was siphoned off by 38 organs and individuals using false documents, the office said after a December-to-March audit.

China accelerated housing projects, first introduced in 1999, in 2011 to improve people's livelihood and spur investment as the country tries to stabilize its economy in a slowdown. But many have voiced fears that these trillion yuan projects are ripe for misuse.

The NAO said that some 47,500 ineligible families benefited from affordable housing last year as approval procedures were slack in some regions. That compared with some 100,000 ineligible families reported in the NAO's survey for 2012.

The office also found 26,500 units of affordable housing apartments were illegally sold by contractors or used for business and leasing purposes in 2013, according to the statement. The prior year, the office put the number at 23,600 units.

A total of 472 billion yuan was allocated for affordable housing projects in 2013 by the government, along with another 565 billion yuan financing from banks and sales of bonds.

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