A YOUNG banker swindled 40 million yuan (US$5.86 million) from a semi-official government body to pay off his gambling debts, a Shenzhen court heard Wednesday.

The public procurator said the 27-year-old, identified only as Luo, was appointed head of a bank branch in Pingshan, Longgang, in 2007 but did not reveal the name of the bank. Luo began making frequent trips to Macao casinos after he became the bank head, according to the procurator.

Luo gambled away about 34 million yuan at Macao casinos in 2007, the court heard.

Luo swindled money from a residents' committee -- a semi-official body that's subsidized by the government -- in Longgang in December 2007, the court heard.

He borrowed 40 million yuan from the committee, promising to repay the fund within 10 days with an interest rate of 8 percent, the court heard.

Luo told the committee that the bank needed the money to boost its deposit volume ahead of the year-end performance appraisal. He faked a guarantee letter in the name the bank, the court heard.

After receiving the guarantee letter, the committee transferred the fund into the account of an investment company designated by Luo, which then transferred the money to other accounts designated by Luo, the court heard.

Luo did not repay the money by the promised time. Instead, he forged a letter of explanation from the bank saying that the repayment was delayed because of bank network changes.

On March 20, three months after borrowing the money, Luo wrote a check to the committee for 41.6 million yuan. The check was no good, and the committee reported it to the police.

Luo pleaded guilty but said he borrowed the money in his own name, not in the bank's name.

A verdict was not yet handed down by the court.

(Helen Deng)