Photo: VCG

A Chinese fugitive on Red Notice from Interpol who has been at large overseas for seven years has handed himself in following unremitting effort from Chinese law enforcement to pursue fugitives and actively carry out international cooperation, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced on Wednesday.

The fugitive named Mai Kaichang who voluntarily returned to China and surrendered to law enforcement in Qingyuan city in South China's Guangdong Province is suspected of committing bribery and obtaining huge illegal gains as the actual owner of Qingyuan Sheng Li Non-ferrous Metal Material Co.

Mai fled abroad in October, 2015 before Interpol issued a "red notice" for him in August, 2017.

Over recent years, authorities handling the case have made unremitting efforts to pursue fugitives and recover their illegal proceeds, as well as actively engage in international law enforcement cooperation. Mai voluntarily returned to China to surrender himself and return his illegal gains, according to CCDI.

The person in charge of the fugitive repatriation office in Guangdong said that Mai's return to China and surrender were the important results achieved by the implementation of the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress and the deployment by the central anti-corruption coordination group's persistent "Sky Net" campaign that insists on investigating and pursuing bribery and corruption together.

We vow to persist in tracking down all fugitives and ensure that they are brought to justice, maintaining a high-pressure situation to make those who have fled unable to hide and those attempting to flee give up their illusions, the official said.

Deployed by the central anti-corruption coordination group since March 2015, China's "Sky Net" campaign is an important operation that involves tracking down fugitives suspected of involvement in graft, preventing corrupt officials from fleeing abroad and recovering illegal gains.

According to a work report from the CCDI to the 20th CPC National Congress released by Xinhua News Agency on October 27, 2022, statistics show that a total of 7,089 fugitives, including 61 of the 100 most-wanted Red Notice Chinese fugitives, have returned to China over the past five years, with a total of 35.24 billion yuan ($5.09 billion) in illegal gains recovered.

Global Times