| ID | 187931 |
| Title Proper | Trace the Money, Seize the Fugitives |
| Other Title Information | China’s Other Anticorruption Battle |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Zhu, Jiangnan ; Wen, Bo |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Corrupt officials fleeing abroad with ill-gotten proceeds constitute a special challenge for the Chinese government. International cooperation to seize these fugitives often encounters roadblocks due to countries’ legal-political differences. By observing China’s burgeoning extraterritorial anti-corruption regime, this article proposes that an anti-money laundering (AML) mindset is being embraced to ‘seize the fugitives’ by ‘tracing the money’. This approach has three advantages: 1) de-complication by standardizing states’ practices and bypassing complexities inherent in orthodox means, 2) de-politicization by circumventing sensitive political concerns through pursuing fugitives and corrupt proceeds separately, and 3) leveling the playing field by rebalancing power between requested and requesting states. In-depth case studies combined with elite interviews reveal that this AML-oriented tactic has facilitated China’s capture of fugitives on foreign soils. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Contemporary China Vol. 31, No.138; Nov 2022: p.993-1011 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Contemporary China Vol: 31 No 138 |
| Key Words | China ; Anticorruption Battle |