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Chinese HR manager creates 22 ghost employees to pocket Rs 18 crore, here’s how

The man realised he had exclusive authority over employee placements, and that there was no salary review process.

Initially, he fabricated a false employee named Sun and requested salary payments under this name (Representational image/Pexels)

A human resources manager in China has been nabbed for running a mind-boggling embezzlement operation, creating 22 fake employees to make at least 16 million yuan (Rs 18 crore, approximately) in wages and severance benefits. Yang was employed at a labour services company in Shanghai, where he handled payroll for workers placed at a tech company.

According to the South China Morning Post, Yang realised he had exclusive authority over employee placements and there was no salary review process. He took this as an opportunity to pull off the fraud. Initially, he fabricated a false employee named Sun and requested salary payments under this name. However, instead of depositing the salary into Sun’s account, Yang redirected the funds to a bank card he owned. The report mentioned that the bank card was not registered under his name.

The labour services company grew suspicious when they discovered that Sun had not received his salary. Yang falsely claimed this was due to a delay from the tech company. Starting in 2014, he fabricated records for 22 ghost employees, embezzling their salaries and severance pay.

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In 2022, the finance department of the tech firm noticed that Sun had full attendance and was receiving regular pay, yet no one had ever seen him at the office. The company alerted the authorities, prompting an investigation into payroll records and bank transactions. This investigation revealed Yang’s fraud, which he carried out for almost ten years.

After his arrest, Yang was sentenced to 10 years and two months in prison for embezzlement. He was also deprived of political rights for one year and fined, and ordered to repay 1.1 million yuan (Rs 1.2 crore) of the stolen money, while his family reimbursed an additional 1.2 million yuan (Rs 1.3 crore). The case was covered by Chinese media in March, the South China Morning Post reported.