BEIJING, Feb. 8 -- Two former branch managers of the Bank of China (BOC) have been indicted in the United States on charges that they tried to defraud China's second largest bank, of US$485 million in what was said to be China's biggest bank scandal.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney General Alice Fisher said Jan. 31 that a grand jury in Las Vegas had returned the 15-count indictment against the former bank managers, Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun. Their wives, Kuang Wanfang and Yu Yingyi, and a relative of Xu Chaofan, Kwong Wa Po, were also charged in the 15-count indictment.

    The indictment came 10 months after another former official of the bank, Yu Zhendong (aka Yu Wing Chung), who pleaded guilty in connection with this investigation, was repatriated to China.

    Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun and Yu Zhendong worked at BOC's Kaiping branch in Guangdong Province.

    Defendants Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun, Kuang Wanfang and Yu Yingyi were first charged Sept. 21, 2004 in an 11-count indictment with violating immigration laws for trying to illegally gain U.S. citizenship.

    The new charges in the indictment stem from an elaborate scheme over a 13-year period to defraud the BOC of at least US$485 million, orchestrated by former managers Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun and Yu Zhendong.

    All five defendants were also charged with using false travel documents in Hong Kong to obtain U.S. visas, according to a District Court of Nevada indictment. The two women were also charged with entering into fraudulent marriages with U.S. citizens to obtain permanent U.S. citizenship.

    On Monday, BOC's spokesman Wang Zhaowen said in Beijing that the bank will support the United States Justice Department's prosecution of two former bank officials and their relatives.

    "We support the U.S. indictment against key suspects in the Kaiping case and will cooperate," said Wang. "We'll try every possible means to recover the stolen funds and ensure financial security."