An audit has revealed that the National Committee Oral Health (NCOH) received over two million yuan (263,000 U.S. dollars) in illegal product endorsements over a period of about three years, the Chinese Ministry of Health (MOH) announced in Beijing on Monday.

The NCOH was not entitled to endorse dental care products but nevertheless accepted 2.085 million yuan for illegal endorsements after China's endorsement regulation was released in 2003, according to the MOH.

"All the illegal endorsement fees must be handed over to the MOH," the Ministry said.

Last April, the MOH shut down the NCOH after its qualifications to approve oral care products were disputed and said the NCOH's accounts from 1997 to 2006 would be investigated.

The audit also revealed that committee heads had illegally accepted 46,000 yuan in allowances and 74,000 yuan in housing subsidies, the MOH sources said, adding that the monies have since been returned.

The audit also turned up other problems in the NCOH's financial management including an undeclared bank account opened in 1997, according to the MOH.

The NCOH, founded in 1988, was mandated to improve the nation's oral health. It was sued last year by people who said it was not authorized to endorse oral health care products such as P&G Crest toothpaste and Lotte chewing gum.

Source: Xinhua