China to maintain high pressure on corruption fugitives

BEIJING -- China on Monday vowed to continue deepening its international anti-graft cooperation and maintain high pressure on corruption fugitives abroad.

A campaign codenamed "Sky Net 2025" was launched on Monday to hunt down fugitives, recover illegal proceeds and combat cross-border corruption, according to a meeting of the office for fugitive repatriation and asset recovery under the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group.

The meeting said specific crackdown operations will be carried out by different authorities. For example, the National Commission of Supervision will lead efforts to recover the illegal proceeds of duty-related crimes and prevent losses, and the People's Bank of China will work with the Ministry of Public Security to target the transfer of illicit funds abroad through offshore companies or underground banking systems.

China has long taken a tough stance against corruption fugitives. A report from the country's top anti-graft body earlier this year shows that 1,597 corruption fugitives were repatriated to China during the "Sky Net 2024" campaign, with over 18.28 billion yuan (about $2.55 billion) worth of illicit assets recovered.