The TV series "Fox Hunting" reveals the arduous process of China's public security cross-border pursuit of fugitive economic crime suspects, and makes the audience fully aware of the difficulty of extraditing fugitives.
In fact, this work is far more complicated than we think, especially at the beginning of the 21st century, when our national strength is relatively weak, and it is extremely difficult to extradite fugitives from developed countries such as the United States.
It was not until 2004 that our country succeeded in extraditing back the first economic crime suspect, so who is he? What did he do?
Bank of China's internal control system is very strict on a global scale, especially in the daily monitoring of accounts and the management of employee travel. According to reports, the bank requires employees to submit applications in advance when traveling abroad and report the use of large expenditures upon return.
The implementation of such strict measures is due to a serious self-theft incident at the Guangdong branch of the Bank of China at the beginning of the 21st century, in which one of the perpetrators was Yu Zhendong, who was the first to be formally extradited from the United States.
In October 2001, Bank of China launched a nationwide networked computer monitoring system aimed at summarizing and processing data across the country. However, as soon as the system was put into operation, the head office immediately discovered a shocking problem: the account deficit was as high as 4$8.2 billion, or more than 4 billion yuan at the exchange rate at the time, was so large that at first it even made staff suspect that the system was malfunctioning.
Bank of China Guangdong Kaiping Branch of 4The deficit of 3.8 billion US dollars has attracted great attention from the head office, and after checking, it was found that the first three presidents of the branch, Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and Xu Guojun, were suspected of misappropriation.
After realizing that the matter might be exposed, the three governors had absconded overnight and fled to the United States via Hong Kong. The head office has immediately reported the case and is conducting an investigation.
This case is the largest theft of bank funds in Chinese history and has received great attention. In order to solve this serious problem, a special task force was set up, and Zhu Rongji, who was premier at the time, personally went to Guangzhou to give guidance and inspection.
Under the guidance of Premier Zhu Rongji, China issued red notices in November 2001 against Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong, and Xu Guojun, and froze their overseas assets through international law enforcement cooperation.
Later, it was found out that as early as 1993, Xu Chaofan and the other three began to take advantage of their positions to buy and sell on behalf of customers, misappropriating bank funds for foreign exchange transactions, and lost more than 100 million US dollars.
Xu Chaofan served as the president of Kaiping Branch, Yu Zhendong served as vice president, and Xu Guojun served as account manager. They took advantage of their positions to transfer bank funds to their own accounts for illegal transactions, which seriously infringed on the interests of banks and customers and caused huge economic losses.
The investigation and handling of this case is an important action for China to crack down on financial crimes and maintain financial security. Through this case, we have come to realize that to crack down on financial crimes and safeguard financial security, it is necessary to strengthen financial supervision, severely punish financial crimes, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the broad masses of the people.
Through the account of the joint bank, in the name of pretending to be a loan, the three of them transferred the funds to the names of Tanjiang Company, Friendship Association Company and other companies, which were actually used for speculation, foreign exchange, and even gambling.
In addition to the wanton profligacy, Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and others also embezzled AVIC Zijin to build a luxury conjoined building in Sanbu Town, Kaiping City, including the 33-story Tanjiang Peninsula Hotel and the 22-story Kaiping Bank of China office.
After the case**, the hotel was transferred to the Bank of China and soon entered the auction process, with an estimated value of 200 million yuan.
In 1998, Xu Chaofan became the director of the corporate business department of the Guangdong branch of the Bank of China, and Yu Zhendong and others took over the position of president of the Kaiping branch. The three of them still maintain a close relationship, using complex money laundering procedures to move large amounts of money from the mainland to Hong Kong, and from Hong Kong to Canada and the United States, totaling more than $400 million overseas.
According to the investigation, they bought 13 properties in Hong Kong, with a total value of hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. Even on 15 October 2001, the day they fled, more than $8 million was transferred overseas from their Hong Kong accounts.
Although they lost more than $100 million, they had foreseen this day as early as 1994. In order to escape, they began to prepare. At that time, Xu Chaofan and his two partners faked a divorce and arranged for their wives to obtain a green card through a fake marriage in the United States.
Soon after, they remarried and obtained U.S. green cards. In 1997, they used a false name to illegally apply for a one-way permit to Hong Kong. After obtaining Hong Kong identity, they applied for visas at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou and the Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong in 2001 with Hong Kong identity cards, and prepared to flee abroad.
Before the launch of the Lian Bank system, Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and Xu Guojun heard about the news and decided to flee to Hong Kong, and from then on fled to Canada and the United States.
Although they managed to escape, the reality was not as easy as they had hoped. Yu Zhendong set Las Vegas, a U.S. casino, as their final destination in order to launder the large amount of illegal money transferred from the country.
They use this to claim that they "won the bet", trying to avoid the judicial authorities' review of the funds** and legal prosecution.
Soon after, China's Ministry of Public Security, through international law enforcement cooperation, successfully froze the relevant assets of the three suspects. On this basis, we use the newly signed criminal justice assistance agreement between China and the United States to request the assistance of the US side in locating the suspects and assets transferred to the United States.
In order to speed up the detection of the case and speed up the repatriation of suspects, my country has proposed"Advance in both directions"The idea of detection. On the one hand, we investigate in China, find out the suspect's criminal process and fund flow, speculate on their next move, and provide investigation clues for the United States**; On the other hand, the United States** will reverse check the funds** and the occurrence process according to the landing evidence we provide, so that we can check the money laundering process.
On the road to solving the case, my country is under tremendous pressure and is working day and night to investigate and collect evidence. It is reported that in order to find out the process of fund transfer, Hong Kong ** raised more than 100 questions, and the Guangdong public security completed the collection of evidence in just one month, and built a strict chain of evidence, proving that Hong Kong is the "transit station" for Xu Chaofan and the three people to launder money.
The evidence collected by our country** is enough to fill several tin cabinets, which fully reflects their determination and perseverance. In addition, communication with the U.S. side is also a difficult point in the case, and due to the differences between the Chinese and U.S. judicial systems, the timeliness of communication is particularly important.
In tackling the issue of international crimes, China has demonstrated firm determination and action. Gao Feng, who used to be the deputy director of the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, traveled between China and the United States for the Yu Zhendong case, and went back and forth seven times in two years, and the hardships cannot be described in words.
In this painstaking effort, the Chinese side eventually succeeded in getting the United States to detain Yu Zhendong in Los Angeles in December 2002, making him the first of the three.
In September 2003, the United States returned $3.55 million of stolen money to China for the first time, marking an important breakthrough in China's recovery of overseas stolen money.
In February 2004, Yu Zhendong was sentenced to 144 months in prison by the federal court in Las Vegas, United States, on charges of illegal entry, illegal immigration, and money laundering.
This fully reflects China's firm position and practical achievements in upholding the dignity of law and combating transnational crimes.
With the concerted efforts of 10 Chinese ministries, China and the United States reached an agreement in which the Chinese side promised not to sentence Yu Zhendong to more than 12 years in prison, and the United States agreed to extradite Yu Zhendong to China.
On April 16, 2004, the United States officially deported Yu Zhendong and escorted him to China, making Yu Zhendong the first fugitive economic suspect in Chinese history to be officially escorted by the United States and handed over to China since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The next day, the Guangdong prosecutor officially approved the arrest of Yu Zhendong and filed a review and prosecution against Yu Zhendong on charges of ** and misappropriation.
The Jiangmen City Intermediate People's Court conducted a public trial of the case on August 16, 2005, and informed sources revealed that because the case was complicated and had a long history, the prosecution and defense conducted a full day of evidence cross-examination under the auspices of the court on August 12, 2005.
After the official **, Yu Zhendong confessed to the charges made by the procuratorate, and there was little dispute about his crimes, and Yu Zhendong's defense lawyer mainly focused on his voluntary surrender and meritorious service"Minor offense defense"。
Defense lawyers argue that Yu Zhendong's return to China was mainly motivated by his own personal wishes, despite the many efforts made by China. In addition, after Yu Zhendong surrendered, he not only sincerely confessed his guilt, but also fully confessed all the facts of his joint crime with his co-defendants Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun.
He also reported the behavior of local ** and other senior executives of the Bank of China, and helped ** successfully crack two other cases, which should be regarded as major meritorious service. In the end, according to the agreement with the United States, the Chinese court sentenced Yu Zhendong to 12 years in prison, which can be said to be relatively light compared with the value of the case of Yu Zhendong and others of nearly 500 million.
Yu Zhendong, who was once regarded as a "person who knows the times", successfully avoided criminal responsibility for his family after voluntarily surrendering. However, the other two suspects involved in the case at the same time as him, Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun, still refuse to plead guilty in the United States.
Although after returning to China, Yu Zhendong's life seems to be quite peaceful, he will take a half-hour nap and walk for an hour every day, and he can also ensure adequate sleep at night. He even taught English to others while in prison.
Mr. Yu has said that his experience is unique, and that perhaps while in prison he could write a warning book about the "loopholes of China's financial institutions" as a wake-up call to the world.
In the second half of 2004, after Yu Zhendong was extradited back to China ahead of schedule, Xu Chaofan, Xu Guojun and their families faced 15 charges in the United States, including fraud, money laundering and visa fraud.
At the end of 2005, Yu Zhendong also testified for the trial of Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun in the United States. As the Bank of China prepares for its first IPO, there are concerns that the Kaiping branch case could affect investor confidence.
However, a spokesman for the Bank of China said that the bank is working hard to recover the stolen funds, and at the same time, it has held the relevant executives accountable and made adequate provisions.
They believe that further investigation of the case will not affect the IPO process.
Xu Chaofan and Xu Guojun were sentenced to 25 and 22 years in prison respectively in May 2009.
On July 11, 2018, under the coordination of relevant departments of my country, Xu Chaofan, the main culprit in the shocking case of Kaiping Branch, was repatriated to China, and he has been on the run abroad for 17 years.
On February 25, 2021, the Jiangmen Intermediate Court publicly tried Xu Chaofan's ** and misappropriation** cases, and the court found him to be the main offender, and he collaborated with others *** 62 million US dollars, Hong Kong $1More than 2.9 billion yuan, misappropriation **3More than 5.6 billion yuan, more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars, 1 US dollarMore than 2.4 billion yuan.
1.On October 13, 2021, Xu Chaofan was sentenced to 13 years in prison for **crime, misappropriation and other crimes, he admitted the verdict and decided not to appeal.
On November 14, 2021, the ** Commission for Discipline Inspection announced that after many efforts, Xu Guojun was also forcibly repatriated to China, which has been 20 years since he fled.
Xu Guojun's return to China marks the return of all three main suspects in the 2001 corruption case of the Bank of China's Guangdong Kaiping Branch, which lasted 20 years and is about to be successfully concluded.
According to reports, over the past 20 years, the Bank of China and the case-handling organs have recovered more than 2 billion yuan of funds involved in the case abroad, and now that Xu Guojun's trial is about to begin, the Kaiping case will come to a perfect end.
2.On October 13, 2021, Xu Chaofan was sentenced to 13 years in prison for ** crimes, misappropriation ** and other crimes, he agreed with the verdict and decided not to appeal.
On November 14, 2021, the ** Commission for Discipline Inspection said that after many efforts, Xu Guojun was also forcibly repatriated to China, which has been 20 years since he fled.
Xu Guojun's return to China means that the three main suspects in the huge corruption case of the Guangdong Kaiping branch of the Bank of China in 2001 have finally returned to China, and the recovery and recovery of stolen goods in this case has lasted 20 years and is about to draw a perfect end.
According to reports, over the past 20 years, the Bank of China and the case-handling organs have recovered more than 2 billion yuan of funds involved in the case abroad, and now that Xu Guojun's trial is about to begin, the Kaiping case will come to a perfect end.
1.The repatriation of Yu Zhendong, Xu Chaofan, and Xu Guojun fully proves that no matter how long they flee to ** and how long they have been hiding, China's laws can bring corrupt elements to justice.
This incident also shows the intensification of China's anti-corruption efforts and the intensity of international recovery and recovery of stolen goods. 2. "Kaiping case"The curtain is about to fall, but the impact of this case on the Chinese bank will be long-lasting.
Since the case began in 2001, more than 200 of the more than 500 employees of the Bank of China's Kaiping branch have been arraigned, and more than 20 of them have been imprisoned for their involvement.
3.A former BOC employee who worked under Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and Xu Guojun recalled that since the summer of 1995, Xu Chaofan, Yu Zhendong and others have asked dozens of bank employees to work overtime at night to revise loan information.
According to an employee who used to work at a branch in Guangzhou, even if the bank's employees leave Guangzhou on rest days and holidays, they need to report to the bank and provide detailed itinerary and entry and exit times.
An employee revealed that a colleague went to Qingyuan on the weekend to see the house and did not report to the bank, and received a request from the bank on the way whether to leave Guangzhou and the destination, which shows that the Bank of China has been greatly affected by the largest bank fund theft case since the founding of the People's Republic of China, like a frightened bird, it may be that only when the dust settles on Xu Guojun's verdict, the Bank of China can gradually recover from this case.