18 July 2016•Update: 23 July 2016
By Mahmut Atanur
BEIJING
A man accused of smuggling and tax evasion has become the first Chinese fugitive to be repatriated from Latin America, following eight years of negotiations with Peru.
The state-run China Daily reported Monday that the suspect, identified only by his surname Huang, had remained at large in Peru for 18 years where he was accused of smuggling 107,000 metric tons of crude soybean oil between 1996 and 1998.
A report in China’s Legal Daily said more than 700 million yuan ($105 million) in taxes were allegedly evaded through the operations of Huang and other suspects through several firms in China.
Huang, who was repatriated Sunday, had fled via Hong Kong to the United States after a police investigation was launched in 1998 and Interpol issued a global arrest warrant for him in 2001.
Chinese customs authorities reached out to Interpol in Peru for help after discovering that Huang had entered the Latin American country -- where he was placed in custody upon re-entry in October 2008.
Authorities from the countries reportedly negotiated over Huang’s repatriation for eight years before Peruvian judicial authorities agreed to return him in May.
In recent years, China has intensified efforts for the extradition of fugitives accused of economic crimes and corruption.
In 2015, China’s Interpol bureau released the names of 100 nationals wanted worldwide under the government’s international Sky Net campaign.
Ministry of Public Security data shows that a record number of 857 fugitives were seized from 66 countries and regions last year by Chinese police, the China Daily reported.
China’s top anti-graft body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, revealed Friday that 381 fugitives from more than 40 countries and regions had been repatriated in the first half of this year, with 1.24 billion yuan ($186 million) in assets recovered.
It said that 33 fugitives included in the Interpol list had been returned to the country.
