Zhang, a Shanghai native suspected of economic crimes, arrives in Beijing after being captured in Indonesia, on September 18, 2014

A notorious economic fugitive who thought he had escaped arrest in a multimillion-dollar fraud case has finally been caught. On April 9, the absconder, identified only by his surname Hu, was extradited to China from Greece under an anti-graft operation. Codenamed Fox Hunt 2015, it hunts down corrupt officials and economic crime suspects who have fled the country, and recovers stolen assets.

Hu was former head of the Quzhou Baitai Group in east China's economically developed Zhejiang Province. In April 2013, he fled to Cyprus with his family and over 40 million yuan ($6.45 million) of illicit money as well as another 4 million yuan ($645,000) of bank loans. The procuratorate of Longyou County in Zhejiang issued an arrest warrant and police began a manhunt for him.

In 2014, at the request of China's Ministry of Public Security, the International Criminal Police Organization issued a red notice for Hu's arrest. On November 23, the businessman was detained at Athens International Airport. The Ministry of Public Security requested his extradition and a Greek court allowed it.

Fox Hunt 2015 is part of Sky Net, a campaign launched by China's Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group.

 The campaign

On March 26, the group's Fugitive Repatriation and Asset Recovery Office convened a meeting to launch the campaign. The initiative engages not only Communist Party of China (CPC) organs and law enforcement agencies, but also the central bank and diplomatic services.

 The Ministry of Public Security is coordinating Fox Hunt 2015 to bring back suspects who have fled overseas after being implicated in corruption cases while the Supreme People's Procuratorate is focusing on those suspected of duty-related crimes. The central bank, the People's Bank of China, is entrusted with cracking down on illegal transfers of funds across borders through underground private banks and offshore accounts.

The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee has tightened control of officials' overseas travel documents and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has established a database of former government officials and Party members who have fled overseas. The central government and local governments have to report such fugitives through the system within 24 hours.

Sky Net is a continuation and expansion of Fox Hunt 2014. Under the latter, 680 suspects were apprehended from 69 countries and regions from July to December 2014. The number equals all the arrests made in the previous five years.

"This sends the message that a corrupt person will be caught, no matter where he hides, and illegal assets will be recovered, no matter how they have been transferred abroad," said Ren Jianming, a professor with Beijing's Beihang University. 

International cooperation

China's effort to bring corrupt officials and other economic crime perpetrators hiding overseas to justice has won the international community's support.

On April 9-10, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, visited Beijing to discuss issues of shared concern. A press release by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the two sides agreed to "a more streamlined process to repatriate Chinese nationals with final orders of removal, while applications for protection will continue to be handled in accordance with U.S. law and American values." The two countries will also work closely to verify the identities of Chinese nationals requiring travel documents and will ensure regular charter flights to facilitate repatriation.

In March, the anti-corruption department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate revealed that China had provided the United States with a priority list of fugitives believed to be hiding on American soil.

During a regular press briefing on March 25, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson said the United States and China "regularly engage on law enforcement matters and mutual concerns such as repatriation and anti-corruption through the U.S.-China Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation." The official added that the U.S. will continue to "encourage China to provide strong evidence and intelligence to ensure that our law enforcement agencies can properly investigate and prosecute cases related to the alleged corruption."

The same day, Wang Qishan, head of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, met Oleg Plokhoi, head of the anti-corruption department of Russia's presidential executive office. Wang expressed the commission's desire to strengthen bilateral anti-graft cooperation. Plokhoi replied that Russia was ready to exchange experience and deepen cooperation with China on the fight against corruption.

Several other countries such as Australia, France and Canada have also expressed their willingness to cooperate with China to combat corruption.

In November 2014, the 26th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting in Beijing adopted the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and established an APEC Network of Anti-Corruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies.

In the declaration, APEC members reaffirmed they will deny safe haven to those engaged in corruption through extradition, mutual legal assistance, and the recovery and return of proceeds gained through corruption. They will adopt more flexible approaches to recover funds, and expedite international cooperation to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish offenders.

Also at the G20 Leaders' Summit in Brisbane in November 2014, the leaders endorsed an anti-corruption action plan, pledging to build cooperation and networks. It includes enhancing mutual legal assistance, recovering the proceeds of corruption, and denial of safe haven to corrupt officials.

As of November 26, 2014, China had 39 extradition treaties and 52 criminal judicial assistance treaties with other countries. Of these, 29 extradition treaties and 46 criminal judicial assistance treaties are already in force, according to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Even in the absence of a bilateral extradition treaty, fugitives can be brought back through other channels. As the U.S. Department of State stated on March 25, "As a general matter, we can return fugitives to other countries even when there is no extradition treaty... including through immigration proceedings." 

A high-caliber force

The Sky Net campaign and the Fox Hunt 2015 program are run by skilled teams. Liu Dong, deputy head of the Economic Crime Investigation Department, Ministry of Public Security, is the director of Fox Hunt..

To join the program, candidates should be experienced in criminal investigation, well-versed in Chinese and foreign law, proficient in at least one foreign language, and should have engaged in international law-enforcement cooperation.

The team members have to be ready to travel at any time and work irregular hours. Sometimes, they have to leave on a new mission within hours of returning home. Some members have made as many as 10 overseas travels within six months.

Liu said many countries and regions, including the United States and Canada, are actively supporting Fox Hunt 2015, while some countries have set up special action groups, which is encouraging.

"Corruption and economic crimes are resolutely opposed by all countries," he stressed. "As long as there is sufficient evidence and the information is correct, our operation will be successful."