Operation Fox Hunt


Operation Fox Hunt is a Chinese covert global operation whose stated aim is anti-corruption. It has led to the arrest of over 40 of its 100 most wanted globally. the program is also believed to target Chinese dissidents living abroad to stop their activism under the guise of returning corrupt Chinese nationals to China to face criminal charges.

History

Operation Fox Hunt was launched in June 2014. In the course of six months during 2015 Operation Fox Hunt repatriated 680 people to China.
In 2015 Operation Fox Hunt scored its first big success in Europe with the arrest and extradition of a woman surnamed Zhang from Italy. It was the first time a European country had extradited someone to China on accusations of financial crimes.

American response

The Obama administration in the United States protested the use of undercover intelligence agents as part of Fox Hunt in 2015. In 2020 Federal Bureau of Investigation director Christopher A. Wray gave a speech at the Hudson Institute in New York where he talked at length about Fox Hunt. As of 2020 FBI believes that the purpose of Fox Hunt is political repression not anti-corruption. According to the FBI targets are given the option of returning to China or committing suicide. Targets were often coerced into compliance through threats against family members and friends both in China and abroad.