Prestigious R&D institutions are among the organizations named by China’s Central Audit Office as having misused government funding. According to the report, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) excluded a CNY 681 million ($10 million) surplus from its 2008 budget. The Institute of Chemistry is charged with taking a 5% share of research funding between 2007 and 2008, or CNY 10.6 million, for “equipment maintenance fees.” The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the High Technology Research and Development Center were among the other scientific organizations cited by the report as having misappropriated funds. MOST and CAS have agreed to return the funds. Critics contend that a lack of transparency is responsible for the problem. They also note that the distribution of research funding from the central offices research organizations, such as MOST, to project sites is often delayed on purpose, so that more interest can be earned on the money in the bank.

Source: Chemistry World