Graft fugitive returns to surrender 15 years after fleeing China

BEIJING - Luo Weimin, one of China's most wanted graft fugitives suspected of duty-related crimes, has returned and surrendered himself to the authorities 15 years after he fled China, the country's top anti-graft body said Wednesday.

Born in February 1962, Luo used to own a private company based in the Yuexiu district in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province. He had allegedly offered bribes to the management of a State-owned enterprise, according to a statement on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission.

In March 2005, a district-level procuratorial agency in Guangzhou launched an investigation against Luo. In October that year, he fled overseas when he was freed on bail pending trial. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in April 2021, according to the statement.

Luo's surrender marks an important achievement in implementing the policy of punishing both parties involved in corruption -- those who take bribes and those who offer them, and China's continued manhunt for duty-related crime suspects, said an official in charge of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery.

China will continue to deepen cooperation with anti-graft agencies worldwide and remain relentless in the pursuit of fugitives and embezzled assets, the official added.