'Red Notice' fugitive extradited from Morocco to China

BEIJING -- A fugitive economic crime suspect has been extradited from Morocco to China, marking the first case since the extradition treaty between China and Morocco took effect in 2021, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

The suspect, surnamed Luo, allegedly embezzled millions of yuan from a company while serving as a financial executive and then fled to Morocco, the ministry said.

In February 2020, Chinese police filed the case for investigation, and in July 2022, an Interpol Red Notice was issued against Luo.

Moroccan police arrested Luo in April of this year, and a court approved his extradition in late October. Luo was extradited to China on Saturday.

An official from the ministry said that the successful extradition of Luo is significant for enhancing law enforcement and judicial cooperation between China and Morocco. The official pledged further efforts to strengthen international cooperation and catch overseas criminal suspects.

The case was part of China's years-long endeavors to apprehend economic fugitives who have fled overseas.

In 2014, China launched the "Fox Hunt" operation. During the "Fox Hunt 2022" operation, Chinese police arrested over 700 overseas suspects involved in various forms of economic crimes.