China Communist Party's anti-graft watchdog find gold, cash in Ma Chaoqun home

China's anti-graft watchdog has discovered 37 kg (82 lbs) of gold, documents for 68 houses and 120 million yuan ($19.6 million) in cash in the home of a Communist Party official who is being investigated for corruption, state media said.

The amount that was discovered in the home of Ma Chaoqun, who was the former manager of the Beidaihe Water Supply Corporation, was so large that state news agency Xinhua called it "shocking".

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in Hebei has accused Ma of bribery, embezzlement, misappropriation of public funds, according to the Beijing News newspaper.

Ma's case was among several other similar corruption cases in Hebei that Xinhua has dubbed "Little officials, Giant corruption".

"The amount of money involved in these cases is huge and it happened among the people," Xinhua said. "The social influence is bad and the masses have reacted strongly."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to target high-ranking "tigers" as well as lowly "flies" in a sprawling campaign against corruption. He has warned, like others before him, that the party's very survival is at stake.

The crackdown has come as the government seeks to push forward a wider campaign against extravagance and decadence.

(1 US dollar = 6.1224 Chinese yuan)