US, China to join forces in hunt for officials fleeing to America with ‘stolen billions’
Senior US officials will meet their Chinese counterparts in August to discuss the possibility of repatriating Chinese officials that have fled to America with billions of dollars of allegedly stolen government assets.
Discussions between China and the United States on repatriating corrupt Chinese officials who have fled to America will continue in August in the Philippines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has confirmed.
China will keep in touch with the US on anti-corruption cooperation and push other APEC members to extradite fugitives alleged to have ran away with billions of dollars of stolen government assets, spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday.
The issue is a thorny one, as no extradition treaty exists between the US and China. That has made America, and other countries such as Australia and Canada, attractive destinations for fleeing officials and havens for stolen assets.
Officials from both countries met for two days in the Philippines last month, after Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum members agreed in November to adopt the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and set up a cross-border law enforcement network to strengthen anti-corruption cooperation.
David Luna, the US State Department's senior director for National Security and Diplomacy who led the US delegation for last month's meeting, said law enforcement and legal experts would be involved in the August discussions.
The countries will share intelligence on corrupt Chinese officials and stolen assets and will also discuss ways to send the fugitives back to China.
The Ministry of Public Security invited federal prosecutors from the US Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service agents to a seminar last month.
