Chinese fugitive hiding on tiny Caribbean island willing to return to face US$100 million fraud accusations – but only as ‘free man’
Businessman Ren Biao accused of abusing position as head of 20 companies to fraudulently amass more than US$100 million and has been hiding out in St Kitts and Nevis – which has no extradition agreement with Beijing and maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan
Niall Fraser
RELATED TOPICS
Corruption in ChinaXi Jinping's anti-graft campaign
One of China’s most wanted fugitives who is holed up on a tiny island in the Caribbean says he is willing to return to the mainland to face his accusers – but onlyas a “free man”.
Accused of financial crimes involving more than US$100 million – one of the original 100 most wanted under Beijing’s international manhunt of fugitives Operation Skynet– businessman Ren Biao made his plea from St Kitts and Nevis.
Ren, 43, is able to live in the Caribbean hideaway with his wife and 16-year-old son after securing a passport through its controversial Citizenship by Investment Programme in 2013.
In May 2014, he was understood to have been made the subject of an Interpol red notice following a request from Beijing and in April this year he was on an updated list of 22 top fugitives whose personal details – including residential addresses – China released to global media in its latest Skynet push.
The businessman also says his father, who is in his 70s, has been “detained” by mainland Chinese authorities. While this could not be independently confirmed, such a move is known to be one of the tactics used to “persuade” fugitives to return.
St Kitts and Nevis is among the countries with which Beijing has no extradition or mutual legal assistance agreement.
Beijing’s most wanted: US repatriates one of the leading ‘Sky Net’ fugitives days before Xi Jinping’s visit
Beijing accused Ren of fleeing from China after he abused his position as head of 20 companies to amass ill-gotten gains of more than US$100 million. The fortune was made up of fraudulently secured bank loans and bogus business deals. He is also accused of milking millions more out of unsuspecting family members and friends.
Beijing has been scathing in its criticism of the government of St Kitts and Nevis, saying that by refusing to act on the Interpol red notice and Beijing’s own repeated requests, the country “risked gaining the reputation of being a haven for international fugitives”.
[Ren] does not want to be marched off a plane in handcuffs
CHESLEY HAMILTON, REN’S LAWYER
St Kitts and Nevis is a member of Interpol but is under no legal obligation to comply with the red notice nor China’s demands. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the 269.4 sq km nation, made up of two islands with a population of just over 50,000, is one of the few remaining places in the world which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Speaking from St Kitts and Nevis, Ren’s lawyer, Chesley Hamilton, said his client “absolutely” refuted the scope and financial dimensions of the accusations and wanted to return to China to face his accusers with the protection, however limited, of his St Kitts and Nevis passport. The lawyer said Ren admitted he was involved in “some” business deals which might have left some people out of pocket, but that he was not guilty as charged.
As Panama Papers scandal deepens, China targets offshore accounts in renewed Skynet crackdown on fugitive corrupt officials
“Mr Ren wants to return as free man. He does not want to be marched off a plane in handcuffs,” Hamilton said.
“Following a scandal over passports issued under the Citizenship by Investment Programme, Mr Ren, like many others, had to return his Kittian passport because it was missing information on the place of his birth. He is now awaiting his new passport after making an application on behalf of himself and his wife. He is as entitled to a passport as any citizen and entitled to the privileges and protection it affords overseas.
“He has made this decision on his own, he wants to go back to face his accusers. He has been in touch not just with the Beijing government but with the provincial government in Jiangsu [where Ren is from]. He has been in touch with the authorities there and he wants to go back there to deal with the matter once and for all.”
Officials from the Chinese embassy in nearby Antigua and Barbuda were also understood to have been in touch with Ren over his possible return.
Hamilton said he was trying to verify whether a new Interpol red notice for his client had been issued on June 19. A red notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. It is issued by Interpol at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant. It is not an international arrest warrant.
A spokesman for Interpol in Lyon, France, would neither confirm nor deny whether Ren is now, or ever has been, the subject of a red notice, referring questions to the Chinese government.
Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security failed to respond to the Post’s inquiries.
China reveals foreign addresses of corruption suspects living in Canada, US and beyond
Professor Fu Hualing, associate professor and director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, at the University of Hong Kong, who specialises in criminal justice studies, human rights and constitutional law in China, said: “I don’t know how receptive China would be to Mr Ren’s suggestion, nor if it could even accept his dual nationality. I would suggest that a ‘return as a free man’ offer could be the opening gambit in a negotiating process.
“More generally, given the lack of formal extradition treaties and/or mutual legal assistance agreements Beijing has with other countries, it seems to be developing a much more informal case-by-case approach to securing the return of fugitives.”
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
Businessman Ren Biao accused of abusing position as head of 20 companies to fraudulently amass more than US$100 million and has been hiding out in St Kitts and Nevis – which has no extradition agreement with Beijing and maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan
Niall Fraser
RELATED TOPICS
Corruption in ChinaXi Jinping's anti-graft campaign
One of China’s most wanted fugitives who is holed up on a tiny island in the Caribbean says he is willing to return to the mainland to face his accusers – but onlyas a “free man”.
Accused of financial crimes involving more than US$100 million – one of the original 100 most wanted under Beijing’s international manhunt of fugitives Operation Skynet– businessman Ren Biao made his plea from St Kitts and Nevis.
Ren, 43, is able to live in the Caribbean hideaway with his wife and 16-year-old son after securing a passport through its controversial Citizenship by Investment Programme in 2013.
In May 2014, he was understood to have been made the subject of an Interpol red notice following a request from Beijing and in April this year he was on an updated list of 22 top fugitives whose personal details – including residential addresses – China released to global media in its latest Skynet push.
The businessman also says his father, who is in his 70s, has been “detained” by mainland Chinese authorities. While this could not be independently confirmed, such a move is known to be one of the tactics used to “persuade” fugitives to return.
St Kitts and Nevis is among the countries with which Beijing has no extradition or mutual legal assistance agreement.
Beijing’s most wanted: US repatriates one of the leading ‘Sky Net’ fugitives days before Xi Jinping’s visit
Beijing accused Ren of fleeing from China after he abused his position as head of 20 companies to amass ill-gotten gains of more than US$100 million. The fortune was made up of fraudulently secured bank loans and bogus business deals. He is also accused of milking millions more out of unsuspecting family members and friends.
Beijing has been scathing in its criticism of the government of St Kitts and Nevis, saying that by refusing to act on the Interpol red notice and Beijing’s own repeated requests, the country “risked gaining the reputation of being a haven for international fugitives”.
[Ren] does not want to be marched off a plane in handcuffs
CHESLEY HAMILTON, REN’S LAWYER
St Kitts and Nevis is a member of Interpol but is under no legal obligation to comply with the red notice nor China’s demands. Further complicating the situation is the fact that the 269.4 sq km nation, made up of two islands with a population of just over 50,000, is one of the few remaining places in the world which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Speaking from St Kitts and Nevis, Ren’s lawyer, Chesley Hamilton, said his client “absolutely” refuted the scope and financial dimensions of the accusations and wanted to return to China to face his accusers with the protection, however limited, of his St Kitts and Nevis passport. The lawyer said Ren admitted he was involved in “some” business deals which might have left some people out of pocket, but that he was not guilty as charged.
As Panama Papers scandal deepens, China targets offshore accounts in renewed Skynet crackdown on fugitive corrupt officials
“Mr Ren wants to return as free man. He does not want to be marched off a plane in handcuffs,” Hamilton said.
“Following a scandal over passports issued under the Citizenship by Investment Programme, Mr Ren, like many others, had to return his Kittian passport because it was missing information on the place of his birth. He is now awaiting his new passport after making an application on behalf of himself and his wife. He is as entitled to a passport as any citizen and entitled to the privileges and protection it affords overseas.
“He has made this decision on his own, he wants to go back to face his accusers. He has been in touch not just with the Beijing government but with the provincial government in Jiangsu [where Ren is from]. He has been in touch with the authorities there and he wants to go back there to deal with the matter once and for all.”
Officials from the Chinese embassy in nearby Antigua and Barbuda were also understood to have been in touch with Ren over his possible return.
Hamilton said he was trying to verify whether a new Interpol red notice for his client had been issued on June 19. A red notice is a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition. It is issued by Interpol at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant. It is not an international arrest warrant.
A spokesman for Interpol in Lyon, France, would neither confirm nor deny whether Ren is now, or ever has been, the subject of a red notice, referring questions to the Chinese government.
Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Public Security failed to respond to the Post’s inquiries.
China reveals foreign addresses of corruption suspects living in Canada, US and beyond
Professor Fu Hualing, associate professor and director of the Centre for Comparative and Public Law, at the University of Hong Kong, who specialises in criminal justice studies, human rights and constitutional law in China, said: “I don’t know how receptive China would be to Mr Ren’s suggestion, nor if it could even accept his dual nationality. I would suggest that a ‘return as a free man’ offer could be the opening gambit in a negotiating process.
“More generally, given the lack of formal extradition treaties and/or mutual legal assistance agreements Beijing has with other countries, it seems to be developing a much more informal case-by-case approach to securing the return of fugitives.”
www.fotavgeia.blogspot.com
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου