China has launched operation "Sky Net 2017" to hunt down corruption suspects who have fled abroad and recover their ill-gotten gains, authorities said in a meeting on March 7.

The meeting was convened by the office for capturing suspects and recovering ill-gotten assets abroad under the central authority's anti-graft coordinating group.

According to the meeting, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) will take charge of the campaign to nab suspects in duty-related crimes and recover their assets.

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) will launch the Fox Hunt operation to capture suspects abroad, and the People's Bank of China, the central bank, will cooperate with the MPS in cracking down on money transfers through offshore companies and underground banks.

According to the meeting, a total of 1,032 fugitives—including 134 state functionaries, 19 of whom were wanted on "red notices" for the most wanted fugitives—returned to China from over 70 countries and regions in 2016.

Work in capturing fugitives and recovering ill-gotten assets abroad has achieved partial success under the leadership of the Party and with the efforts of relevant agencies, meeting attendees said.

The anti-corruption work will never end, nor will work in capturing fugitives and recovering stolen assets, according to the meeting.

The central authority called for strengthened coordination and an improved system to make greater achievements.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2017)