Nearly 5.8 billion yuan ($948 million) was embezzled last year from State funds for affordable housing, involving 360 projects and organizations, China's top auditing authority said on Friday.

The money was used to pay back loans, to invest or ensure cash flow, the National Audit Office said in its annual audit report on affordable housing projects for 2012.

About 20,000 auditors took part in a nationwide audit from November to March, covering 391 cities and 2,546 counties. They checked 34,200 affordable housing projects, 26,400 government organizations and companies as well as 248,500 households.