BEIJING — Chinese authorities have punished 970 people involved in violations of use of poverty relief funds, after an audit of the execution of the government’s 2016 central budget and other fiscal revenue and expenditure, the country’s top auditor said on Dec 23.

Hu Zejun, head of the National Audit Office, made the statement while briefing lawmakers in a report on rectification following the audit.

Poverty relief funds involved in the rectification totaled nearly 3.27 billion yuan ($497 million), Hu said.

In an effort to improve precision in identifying the poor, around 101,800 people have been removed from the government list of registered poor, while another 95,100 have been added to the list upon confirmation.

The report was submitted to the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for deliberation. The session will end on Dec 20.