Fugitives of justice are being returned to China, like this unidentified one from Indonesia. But 100 such persons on an Interpol list are still at large and being sought around the world, including on one small Caribbean island nation. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's hot pursuit of fleeing fraudsters recently hit a cold snag in a faraway place, in a case already testing the strength of international efforts to combat corruption, fraud and other forms of organized crime.

Beijing is pursing 100 wanted Chinese in different countries, with the help of the international police organization, INTERPOL.

Information about and photographs of the wanted Chinese nationals has been posted on an Interpol "Red List" since 2015, part of China's focus on catching the fugitives and recovering stolen assets.

Since 2014, Biao Ren, who is named on the Interpol "Wanted" list, has been living on the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis - a small two-island Caribbean state of 269.4 square kilometers with just over 50,000 people - where he had acquired "economic citizenship" in 2013.

Before being named on the Interpol "Red List," the fleeing Chinese had bought his "economic citizenship" of the quiet Caribbean nation through its controversial Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP), which invites overseas nationals to invest small sums and qualify for automatic citizenship - including a Kittitian passport.

Ren is accused in China of stealing over US$100 million through "dozens of false contracts and over 200 false deals through more than 20 companies in his control." He's also accused of milking "hundreds of millions of loans from several banks and hundreds of millions in cash from friends and relatives."

In May 2014, less than a year after acquiring his Kittitian passport, Interpol issued a specific "Red Notice" for him.

But despite informing the island-nation's authorities of his flight schedule details from London and requesting their arrest on arrival, Ren (plus his wife and daughter) not only landed without interference, but have been living in the Federation with the in-built protection of Kittitian law.

St. Kitts and Nevis does not have ties with China and its government is standing behind the wanted Chinese nationals, leading to allegations it's harboring the fugitives.

In a related official statement issued in the Caribbean in early May, Beijing told Basseterre its refusal to cooperate with Interpol in the Ren matter risks making the country "the first choice of criminals to elude legal judgment."

China also invited the Basseterre administration to "work with the Chinese government to seize and repatriate the criminal suspect to China as soon as possible, in order to prevent St. Kitts and Nevis being a safe haven for criminals."

The island's government authorities insist on underlining that there is no mutual extradition treaty between China and St. Kitts and Nevis. But as United Nations (UN) member-states and in the interest of combating international crime, China and Interpol expect the Caribbean state to cooperate.

St. Kitts and Nevis is caught between a rock and a hard place.

CIP programs have been attracting juicy funds to the smaller Caribbean islands - like Dominica, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis - where investment sums required are relatively cheap in comparison to other regional states with similar programs by other names.

But while most approved applicants are on the right side of the law, the Caribbean CIPs are also being targeted by shady characters unable to travel widely on their own passports, or who wish to flee from justice in their countries of origin.

The USA and other Western nations also claim to fear use of these programs by "terrorists" to acquire passports to enter countries destined for attack.

The St. Kitts and Nevis CIP program has already been tarnished by unsavory characters who have been intercepted at airports in Canada, the USA and Europe with "diplomatic, official and regular" Kittitian CIP passports.

The attractiveness of the Caribbean's economic citizenship passports includes guarantees of equal rights to holders as citizens in all CARICOM member-states and visa-free entry into over one hundred nations worldwide.

All CIP programs include special clauses that require the host countries' authorities to cooperate with international agencies, including Interpol, to verify the criminal character record and other related business-performance claims submitted by applicants.

In the case of St. Kitts and Nevis, the original country of origin of the holder is withheld, thus protecting those holders who do not want their real country of origin traced. However, this practice was roundly criticized, especially by the U.S. and Canada, which demanded they be withdrawn.

According to records provided by Canadian Bank Note - the company that produces passports for most of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states, including St. Kitts and Nevis - all of 15,197 regular passports, 91 diplomatic and 39 official passports were issued without the country of birth field under the previous Denzil Douglas government.

The absence of the "Country of Origin" field in the Kittitian CIP passports was the main reason cited by Canada for revoking the visa-free status of St. Kitts and Nevis passports on November 22, 2014.

In March 2017, Prime Minister Timothy Harris announced his government would revoke all the 15,327 passports issued without the "Country of Origin" field by the preceding administration and the holders would have to reapply for new ones - at a new cost.

As pressure from China and Interpol mounted for Ren's arrest and repatriation to Beijing earlier this month, Harris indicated there would be further investigations.

Then, at a weekly press conference in mid-May, the prime minister surprisingly announced that Ren's passport, along with that of his wife and child, were among those revoked.

"They don't have a St Kitts and Nevis passport on which they could travel," he said.

He also disclosed the Chinese had recently reapplied for the passports, but "the Ministry of National Security has not issued any passports… and they do not have a valid St Kitts and Nevis passport."

Harris said the decision to revoke the economic citizenship passports was taken as "an imperative to safeguard the integrity of our passport, to comply with international best practices, and to satisfy our commitment to being a responsible member of the international community."

Interestingly, however, the Kittitian government has not yet indicated how it will respond to China's request and Interpol's demands for Ren's arrest and return.

Meanwhile, with China's anti-corruption drive remaining in top gear at home and abroad, accused fraudsters fleeing justice for financial crimes can rest assured of being pursued by Beijing wherever in the world they are known to be, irrespective of whatever temporary protections they may have bought over time.

Earl Bousquet is a contributor to china.org.cn, editor-at-large of The Diplomatic Courier and author of an online regional newspaper column entitled Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.