A 42-year-old former Chinese businessman surnamed Zheng (鄭) was arrested at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and repatriated on Wednesday in accordance with the Agreement on Jointly Cracking Down on Crime and Mutual Legal Assistance Across the Strait (海峽兩岸共同打擊犯罪及司法互助協議) with China, the National Immigration Agency said.
Zheng was the chairman of a construction company in Xiangshan County, in China’s Zhejiang Province, which specialized in constructing mansions and four-star hotels, the agency said, adding that Zheng had allegedly sold all 30 mansions the company owned, each to two different clients, due to the company’s financial problems.
Zheng allegedly took the funds, totaling NT$450 million (US$14.49 million), fled the country and moved to the US with his family, the agency said.
After living in Los Angeles for five years, Zheng, feeling homesick and unable to return to China, visited Taiwan in 2013 for a taste of his native culture.
Taiwanese officials had not received word of Zheng being wanted by China until he had returned to the US, the agency said, adding that it had since placed Zheng on an alert list.
China informed Taiwan that Zheng was wanted for committing financial crimes and asked Taiwan to apprehend him under the agreement, which was signed in 2009.
Zheng had scheduled another trip to Taiwan at the end of last month, visiting Bali in Indonesia before returning to Taiwan on Tuesday last week, after which the agency had him tailed, the agency said.
Zheng was arrested at the airport as his family was preparing the leave the nation, the agency said.
Zheng told agency officials that he knew the day would come when he was arrested, adding that he was unaware that Taiwan and China had signed an extradition agreement.
Zheng was escorted back to China by Chinese public security officials, the agency said.
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