AFP has contacted the banks for comment.
Bank of China said it “sincerely accepts the audit supervision” and promised to improve its compliance capabilities, in comments reported by local media.
China Everbright Group, another state-backed financial firm, was also criticised by the report for management failings.
By August 2025, the group lacked control over several of its subsidiaries, while some companies abused the Everbright brand, the report said.
The findings come as China’s local governments face revenue shortages following a prolonged property downturn, prompting Beijing to ramp up tax enforcement efforts targeting both corporations and high-income individuals.
Social media users expressed shock that one of the country’s largest banks, run by the state, had been failing to pay its dues.
“Whose pockets did the stolen tax go into?” one user asked, while others called for fines and recovering the funds.
“If one bank has evaded 2.4 billion (yuan), then what about others?” another wrote.
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