(ECNS) -- A fugitive wanted for economic crimes has been extradited from Thailand to China on Tuesday during the "Fox Hunt" operation, marking the first case since the extradition treaty between China and Thailand took effect in 1999, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
The suspect surnamed Zhang, founder of MBI Group, was discovered to have led a pyramid scam operation under the guise of issuing virtual currency, requiring participants to pay a membership fee ranging from 700 yuan to 245,000 yuan ($34,000) since 2012. The group had a total of more than 10 million members, involving more than 100 billion yuan in funds.
The public security organ of Chongqing Municipality launched an investigation into Zhang in December 2020, and in March 2021, an Interpol Red Notice was issued against him. Thai police arrested him on July 21, 2022 and China submitted an extradition request in accordance with the bilateral extradition treaty.
On May 21 of this year, the appeals court in Thailand made a final ruling to extradite Zhang to China, and the Thai government issued an administration decision for the extradition on Aug. 14.
An official from the "Fox Hunt" office of China's Public Security Ministry stressed that the successful extradition of Zhang demonstrates the Chinese government's firm determination to uphold the law.
It was a significant achievement in judicial cooperation between the two countries.
京公网安备 11010202009201号