China's manhunt campaign brings back 1,273 fugitives in 2021

BEIJING -- A total of 1,273 fugitives were returned to China in 2021 as a result of the country's global campaign to track down individuals suspected of committing duty-related crimes, China's top anti-graft body has said.

Among that number were 22 Red Notice fugitives, and over 16.74 billion yuan (about $2.64 billion) of illicit funds were recovered, according to a work report released on Thursday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China.

In 2021, disciplinary inspection and supervision bodies handled over 125,000 cases related to corruption and misconduct in work related to people's livelihood, handing Party and administrative disciplinary punishments to 115,000 individuals, the report said.

A total of 9,931 cases related to "protective umbrellas" sheltering criminal forces were handled, with 9,569 individuals sanctioned and 1,037 transferred to procuratorial organs, according to the work report.

Thursday marks a year since the fugitive-tracing campaign codenamed "Sky Net 2021" was launched on Feb. 24, 2021.