An economic fugitive was returned to China from Greece on Thursday as a new campaign to capture fugitives overseas continues, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
It's the first time Chinese police have seen an economic suspect returned from Greece since the launch of "Fox Hunt 2015" on April 1, the ministry said.
The suspect, surnamed Hu, who controlled a company in east China's Zhejiang Province, didn't come back after a trip to Cyprus with his family in late April of 2013.
He took with him more than 40 million yuan (about 6.45 million U.S. dollars), which was allegedly illegally raised from the public, and four million yuan of bank loans, according to the police.
Interpol issued a red notice over Hu last October on request of the ministry. The ministry began the extradition process after the suspect was detained by Greek police at the Athens airport on Nov. 23. Local courts agreed to extradite him.
China has no extradition treaty with Greece, therefore this successful individual extradition case set a good example for the future international law enforcement cooperation with European countries, said an official with the ministry.
Fox Hunt 2015, targeting economic suspects and corrupt Party members and government officials, is part of a larger campaign codenamed "Sky Net" that combines government, Party, law enforcement agencies, the central bank and diplomatic services.
