Photo: ccdi.gov.cn

Xu Guojun, former president of Kaiping sub-branch of Bank of China who had been on the run for 20 years, was forcibly repatriated to China on Sunday under the coordination of several departments.

Responsible Chinese authorities have actively carried out international judicial and law enforcement cooperation, taking unremitting efforts to track down fugitives and recover stolen assets, according to an announcement on the website of CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Sunday.

Xu was suspected of corruption and embezzlement relating to a large amount of public funds together with both his predecessor and successor Xu Chaofan and Yu Zhendong. Xu Guojun fled to the US in 2001. 

Yu was repatriated to China in 2004 and Xu Chaofan in 2018. The handling agencies and the Bank of China have recovered more than 2 billion yuan ($313 million) of illicit money from both home and abroad.

The official in charge of the fugitive tracing office pointed out that Xu Guojun was connected to a particularly large amount of money, who then fled and resisted attempts to bring him to justice. His return marks the success of 20 years of law enforcement tracking down fugitives and assets recovery work connected to the case, which also fully proved that no matter where the corrupt fugitives fled to and how long they hide, they will not escape legal sanction. 

China is determined to pursue fugitives to the end, and will continue to step up international anti-corruption efforts to track down fugitives and recover stolen assets, the official said.