In a first, Hong Kong refused US extradition bid following Beijing request, State Department report says
Case last October revealed in annual assessment of key developments in city
Hong Kong’s leader refused to hand over a fugitive to the US last year following a request by mainland Chinese authorities, in the first such case since the city’s handover from Britain to China, American officials have revealed.
The extradition request concerned a hacker from Macau who was arrested in the city while accused of breaking into US law firms’ computers and making millions from stock trades fuelled by ill-gotten information.
The detainee was released into “central government custody” on the basis that Beijing was “pursuing a separate criminal action”, the Hong Kong Policy Act Report read.
“This was the first such instance since 1997,” it said of the refusal. “The central government has provided no information as to the disposition of its own case against the individual.”
