A graft fugitive who had been on the run for 15 years returned to China Saturday to turn himself in, according to the Communist Party of China's disciplinary watchdog.

Yan Yongming, 47, who was the former chairman of the pharmaceutical company Tonghua Golden-horse in northeast China's Jilin Province, had been hiding in Australia and New Zealand since November 2001. He had fled China after being charged with embezzlement, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said.

He was number five on China's top 100 fugitives listed in an Interpol "red notice" and the 36th to be returned so far.

After close cooperation between Chinese and New Zealand law enforcement agencies, Yan confessed to his crimes, offered to return "a huge amount of ill-gotten money," and pay a hefty fine, the CCDI said without further details.

"Yan's return, once again, proves there is no safe haven, and the 'sky net' will get increasingly tighter," the CCDI said in the statement.