Hong Kong is one of the channels used by corrupt officials to transfer money abroad, the director of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) Liu Jianchao has told reporters. He also said that there is potential for collaboration between Hong Kong’s ICAC and the bureau.

Liu Jianchao. Photo: Now TV screen cap.

“We all know that the financial system is very complicated,” Liu said on Friday, adding that corrupt officials have transferred money “through underground banks, money laundering, and [by] changing names.”

However, he said that the actual figures still needed investigation.

“Chinese officials escaping abroad have lots of channels and methods. These have happened in the past. Some have been on the run for 20 years.”

He revealed that Operation Skynet, an anti-corruption operation initiated last year, had brought around 1,000 suspects back to China, with 240 being former public officials.

ICAC. Photo: Apple Daily.