Suspects in financial offenses arrested in SE Asia

Ten suspects in major Chinese financial crimes have been arrested in Southeast Asia and repatriated in a recent campaign to catch overseas fugitives.

Eight of the suspects were caught in Malaysia and the other two were arrested in Thailand and the Philippines after they fled Malaysia, the Ministry of Public Security said.

Chinese mainland suspects allegedly involved in a series of telecom frauds were brought back to China on Jan 17.Wang Shen / Xinhua

A total 500 million yuan ($81.7 million) was involved in the crimes that the suspects allegedly committed, according to a statement on the ministry's website on Tuesday evening.

The suspects include one from Hebei province who allegedly committed a 350 million yuan loan fraud; one from Jiangsu province who allegedly gained the government's export rebate through deceit; and two from Liaoning province who fled 13 years ago, the ministry said.

No further information about the suspects was provided.

The ministry has handed over the suspects to local public security authorities for further investigation.

China's embassy in Malaysia and the Southeast Asian countries' law enforcement authorities assisted Chinese police in the arrest and repatriation process, the ministry said.

The public security departments have had major success in recent years with capturing overseas fugitives with international cooperation, the ministry said.

In a recent high-profile case, Chen Yi, 34, former general manager of Shanghai Fanxin Insurance Agency, the city's largest insurance intermediary, was caught and repatriated by Chinese police in Fiji last month after she allegedly fled with 500 million yuan of company money.

In another case, Chinese police caught 64 suspects in Cambodia with the help of local police on September 3. The suspects — 51 from the Chinese mainland, 11 from Taiwan and two from Vietnam — are suspected of telecommunications fraud, the ministry said.

On Aug 29, Guo Shengkun, minister of public security and also a State councilor, vowed to increase international cooperation in information sharing, personnel training and the pursuit of criminals. Guo made the remarks while meeting with the visiting Vietnamese deputy minister of public security, Bui Quang Ben.