France offers to help China catch fugitives in Operation Fox Hunt
China to send French authorities a list of suspects wanted for economic crimes
France was ready to help China track down fugitive corruption suspects who might be on French soil, and did not rule out extraditing any it found to Beijing, a French justice ministry official said.
As part of an anti-corruption drive under President Xi Jinping , China is pursuing overseas-based fugitives in a campaign known as Operation Fox Hunt.
Robert Gelli, the French justice ministry's director of criminal affairs, said Chinese authorities would soon send French officials a list of people suspected of "getting rich from corruption and seeking refuge in other countries, or investing this money in other countries".
The list was expected to contain about 10 names, of whom two or three were thought to be in France, Gelli said. The rest might be elsewhere in Europe, but have existing or previous links to France.
China has arrested 288 fugitives suspected of committing economic crimes, Xinhua has said, citing activities in 56 countries. The Washington-based Global Financial Integrity Group estimates that US$1.08 trillion illegally flowed out of China from 2002 to 2011.
The three most popular destinations for corruption suspects are the United States, Canada and Australia.