“It all started when we received an extradition request from China,” said Lars Werkström, Chief Legal Officer at the Swedish Prosecution Authority.

Swedish police arrested the man on 25 June on suspicion of gross fraud and embezzlement.

“He has been accused of serious financial crimes and there are indications of corruption,” added Werkström.

The man allegedly committed the crimes in mid-2011, while at the helm of a Chinese state-owned grain-trading company.

Later that year he fled the country and Chinese police suggest that he transferred large sums of company funds to foreign accounts.

The police subsequently called for international cooperation to trace the man, who has been on the run ever since.

New identity

International media reports have described the 54-year-old as a strict rule-abiding bureaucrat hiding a dark secret.

According to the Swedish detention order, the man is thought to have embezzled the equivalent of over 100 million SEK from his workplace.

He fled China for the US with his ex-wife in 2011. There, the couple faced suspicions of visa fraud and money laundering.

However, only the ex-wife was arrested and convicted.

The man later adopted a new name and obtained St Kitts and Nevis citizenship through investment. Using a new passport, he travelled to Sweden, where he remarried and was granted residency rights.

Co-operation with Chinese authorities

He claims to have lived in Sweden since 2014, and has been registered at a number of different addresses in central Sweden since 2015.

Why has it taken so long to track down this internationally wanted fugitive?

“I do not know how this man has been staying here or the extent to which he has been wanted. I cannot comment on that,” said Lars Werkström.

The Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit has now initiated an investigation to verify the accusations and determine whether there are grounds to extradite the man.

This is being done in co-operation with the Chinese authorities.

“I get the impression that there is considerable interest from the Chinese side. I believe the investigating prosecutor has had a great deal of contact with Chinese authorities,” said Lars Werkström.