Deng Xinzhi, a suspect involved in a 20 million yuan (about 2.92 million U.S. dollars) swindling case, was repatriated by Canada after spending five years in the country, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Wednesday.
The Beijing native allegedly swindled more than 20 million yuan in the first eight months of 2002 while posing with others as an employee of insurance company China Life.
He fled to Canada in January 2003.
Under escort of Canada Border Services Agency officers, he was turned over to Chinese officials on Aug. 22. This showed the active attitude of Canada in upholding the law, the MPS said in a statement.
"We appreciate Canada's move and hope law enforcement departments on the two sides can enhance cooperation in the future," it read.
Canada's Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said in a statement on the ministry's website Deng's removal underscored the Canadian government's commitment that the country would not be a "safe haven" for fugitives.
"On this our tolerance level is zero," it read.
Some experts believe the case will accelerate the repatriation of other fugitives of economic offences, including Lai Changxing, the leading suspect in the country's most notorious smuggling case valued at 10 billion U.S. dollars.
Lai, who currently resides in Vancouver where he was seeking refugee status, was accused of being the mastermind behind the country's largest smuggling ring. He fled to Canada in 1999. For along time, China has been seeking the Fujian Province native's return to face charges of smuggling, bribery and tax evasion.
Police statistics showed there were more than 500 Chinese suspects at large overseas wanted for economic crimes, mostly graft. They were accused of crimes involving more than 70 billion yuan.
With the assistance of bilateral judicial cooperation and Interpol, the world police body, only a fraction of Chinese fugitive suspects were repatriated. In light of this, the country had taken the repatriation of corrupt officials as a priority of its international judicial cooperation plan.
Source: Xinhua
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