China kicks off anti-graft operation to pursue fugitives

China has kicked off a comprehensive anti-corruption operation codenamed "Sky Net" for 2023 and will further build its integrated mechanism for pursuing fugitives, preventing escape, and retrieving stolen assets.

The decision came Monday at a meeting of the fugitive repatriation and asset recovery office of the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group.

As part of the anti-graft effort, the National Commission of Supervision will spearhead a targeted campaign to combat duty-related crimes, hunt down corrupt officials who fled overseas, and retrieve stolen assets; the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) will launch the "Fox Hunt" campaign to repatriate economic fugitives who have fled abroad; the People's Bank of China will team up with the MPS to tackle disguised transfer of misappropriated assets overseas; the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate will jointly wage a campaign to restore stolen assets involved in cases whose criminal suspects or defendants escaped or died; the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee will partner with other authorities to address unregulated issuance and possession of relevant documents, according to the meeting.