China's auditing authorities said on Friday that irregularities in different forms had been found in various reconstruction projects implemented following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

The auditing had resulted in two legal cases, which involved two people and 4.24 million yuan (US$626,214), said a statement of the National Audit Office (NAO).

This is the third round of auditing after the catastrophic earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuan Province and nearby areas on May 12 of 2008.

The auditing lasted from December 2009 to May this year and focused on 107 major projects involving investments totaling 68.45 billion yuan, said the NAO.

Among the 107 projects, seven started later than scheduled and 14 proceeded slower than planned, resulting in millions of dollars left temporarily unused, said the statement.

The NAO had also found 11 projects started without government approvals or complete designs, and biding rules were disobeyed in another 12 projects.

The auditing had also uncovered dereliction of duty on the part of project supervisors, managers and technical personnel, loose investment control, improper land expropriation procedures, and non compliance with environmental policies.