The Interior Ministry on Tuesday deported a Chinese fugitive who had been hiding in Cambodia for the past six years to avoid allegations of embezzling $190 million in his home country, a senior immigration official said Thursday.
Uk Heisela, head of investigations at the Interior Ministry’s general department of immigration, said that Sun Xin, 47, was put on a flight from Phnom Penh to China in the company of Chinese police.
“He was involved with economic crimes [in China],” Lieutenant General Heisela said.
According to Deputy National Police Commissioner Chhay Sinarith, Mr. Sun was arrested at a factory in Kompong Speu province on June 3 by a joint force of Chinese and Cambodian police after Chinese investigators tipped off Cambodian authorities about his whereabouts.
“He was a finance officer for the Beijing municipal press bureau,” Lieutenant General Sinarith said. “He entered Cambodia in 2009 using a fake passport.”
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday that Mr. Sun, using an alias, had been working as an accountant at the Kompong Speu factory, where his co-workers described him as unsociable.
“When Sun was working at the factory, he was very quiet,” the article said. “When the younger workers hung out and drank, he never participated.”
According to Xinhua, Mr. Sun stands accused of embezzling $190 million worth of state property in 2008 and investing the money in futures and securities.
Lt. Gen. Sinarith said Cambodian police began looking for Mr. Sun late last year, following a request from China.
Contacted Thursday, Cheng Hong Bo, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Phnom Penh, said that Mr. Sun was in custody in Beijing.
“He is now in Beijing awaiting trial.” he said.
