Macau pledges to support Beijing's crackdown on graft

Graft-busters in Macau have pledged to support Beijing's corruption crackdown and its hunt for suspects at large, after a senior mainland official issued a stern call last week for cooperation.

Macau would help bring fugitives to justice and with the recovery of laundered funds, the chief of the Commission Against Corruption of Macau indicated in an article released by the anti-graft agency on Friday.

"Through enhancing communication and cooperation … and supporting the fugitive manhunt and asset recovery activities of the Chinese mainland, the [commission] will exert the best efforts to prevent Macau from turning into a transit point or destination for illicit money outflows and corrupt officials fleeing the country," the article quoted commissioner Andre Cheong Weng-chon as saying.

He said his commission would also strengthen cooperation with neighbouring provinces and regions such as Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian in cases of mutual interest and training personnel.

Cheong's response came after Minister for Supervision Huang Shuxian told him during a meeting in Beijing on Monday that he hoped "to cooperate pragmatically with the Commission Against Corruption of Macau to strengthen the tracking down of fugitives and proceeds". Huang urged Macau to cooperate with the transfer of fugitives in the anti-graft drive.

Their meeting took place days after the launch of the multi-agency Operation Skynet, an international manhunt for corruption suspects aimed at restricting their financial channels.