Wanted economic fugitive returned to China

Chinese police escort Li Huabo (C), the second suspect from China's "100 most wanted economic fugitives" list, upon his arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, May 9, 2015. Li was repatriated Saturday as part of operation "Sky Net". The Sky Net campaign aims to return fugitives for trial. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

BEIJING, May 9 -- The second suspect from China's "100 most wanted economic fugitives" list was repatriated Saturday as part of operation "Sky Net".

The Sky Net campaign aims to return fugitives for trial.

Li Huabo, a former financial official in east China's Jiangxi Province, fled the country in January 2011 and has since remained in Singapore, according to a statement issued by the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

He is suspected of embezzling 94 million yuan (15.4 million U.S. dollars).

The fugitive has been arrested on a charge of corruption, the People's Procuratorate of Shangrao City in Jiangxi announced at Beijing Capital International Airport.

Local procuratorate will bring a prosecution against Li after completing further investigation into his case.

An earlier probe showed Li had taken advantage of his position in the finance bureau of Poyang county in Jiangxi to embezzle 94 million yuan from the local government's infrastructure fund with former co-workers during 2006-2010, and funnel 29 million yuan through Singaporean banks. He also used the money to gamble in Macao.

Although China and Singapore have no extradition treaty, both sides carried out cooperative law enforcement.

He was sentenced to 15 months in prison by a Singapore court for "dishonestly accepting stolen property" and repatriated after serving most of the sentence. A total of 182,000 Singapore dollars confiscated by Singapore authorities has been returned to Poyang county.

In April, Interpol's National Central Bureau of China issued a list detailing 100 people wanted by China as the hunt for economic fugitives intensifies.

The first was captured on April 25.

According to the CCDI, those on the list were only a fraction of the targets.

China will strengthen cooperation with other countries and bring them to face justice, according to the central authority's anti-graft coordination group.