China seizes 88 fugitives in overseas 'fox hunt' for financial criminals
Ministry of Public Security says 35 of those were 'persuaded' to return to the country
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 21 September, 2014, 2:45pm
UPDATED : Monday, 22 September, 2014, 2:59am
Andrea Chen [email protected]
Gangsters arrested on economic crimes are paraded by Chinese police. Photo: AFP
The lack of extradition treaties and law enforcement agreements with foreign countries are the major challenges mainland detectives face as the hunt for corruption suspects abroad gatheres pace, police and legal experts said.
The mainland authorities launched a campaign dubbed Fox Hunt 2014 in July to track down suspects facing corruption charges, or other economic offences, who had fled abroad.
Eighty-eight fugitives had been extradited or returned on their own from over 40 countries and regions since the crackdown began, the Public Security Ministry said yesterday.
Eleven of the fugitives had been on the run for more than 10 years, including a former resident of Chongqing accused of embezzling 60 million yuan 14 years ago.
The names of the suspects were not released.
China had not signed extradition treaties or criminal law enforcement agreements with countries including the United States and Canada, allowing fugitives to flee to these nations, Chen Zhijun, a legal expert at the People's Public Security University of China, told Xinhua.
Chen said some countries were "prejudiced" against the mainland's legal system and often refused to co-operate with police.
The police involved in the campaign also called for some mechanism to be set up to make it quicker and easier to work abroad and track down fugitives.
Current restrictions overseas hindered investigations, Xinhua quoted police as saying.
Additional reporting by AP
