MOSCOW, November 17 (Sputnik) — Since the launch of its so-called “fox hunt” in July, China has taken into custody 288 financial crime suspects, the China Daily reported Monday.
Launched in July by China’s Communist Party the program seeks to arrest and sentence over 18,000 former Chinese government officials known to have escaped from China and be in hiding outside the country over the past two decades.
Out of 288 arrests mentioned, 126 have been brought back to China. 81 were suspects of financial crimes worth more than 10 million yuan (some $1.6 million) each, according to the public security ministry cited by the China Daily.
Among those apprehended 21 had been fugitives for over 10 years, the ministry added.
Citing a report by the People’s Bank of China, the newspaper stated that the money taken outside China by the 18,000 former government officials is over 800 billion yuan (about $130 billion).
According to the newspaper most of the criminals are hiding in Canada, Australia and the United States. A sizeable percentage of the fugitives are also thought to be in Europe.
