Photo: CCTV

A suspect involved in a major financial criminal case of organizing and leading a pyramid scheme with funds of over 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) has been successfully extradited from Thailand, marking the first financial criminal suspect extradited to China from Thailand since the two countries' extradition treaty took effect in 1999. 

With the collaboration of relevant departments, the Chinese Embassy in Thailand and the law enforcement departments in Thailand, China's economic fugitive repatriation campaign Fox Hunt's work group under China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) successfully extradited the suspect surnamed Zhang from Thailand back to China on August 20. 

Zhang was discovered to have led a pyramid scam operation under the guise of issuing virtual currency since 2012, as participants were required to pay fees ranging from 700 yuan to 245,000 yuan to obtain membership on the platform, according to the People's Daily report. 

The scheme lured participants by offering high returns on their investments. The rebate system was based on the number of new members each participant could recruit and the amount of money invested by these new recruits. More than 10 million investors have fallen prey to the scheme, and the money involved amounted to over 100 billion yuan. 

The public security organ of Chongqing Municipality launched an investigation into Zhang in 2020, and an Interpol Red Notice was issued in March 2021, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Zhang was captured by Thai police in 2022, and was ordered to be extradited to China following a sentence made by Thailand's Appeals Court in May 2024, a decision later supported by the Thai government, according to Xinhua.

An official from the office of the Fox Hunt campaign said that the successful extradition of Zhang shows the Chinese government's firm determination and will to uphold Chinese people's rights and defend the dignity of the law. 

The extradition is a major achievement in China-Thailand law enforcement and judicial cooperation, marking a milestone in consolidating and deepening cooperation between the two countries and serving as a positive example for future extradition cooperation between China and other countries, the official said. 

Global Times