A former Chinese official, who later became one of the country’s most wanted fugitives, will be extradited to the United States to face money laundering charges, the Justice Department said Monday.
Jianjun Qiao, the former head of a grain storage facility in China, was extradited from Sweden to Los Angeles over the weekend, according to the Justice Department.
Mr. Qiao will be arraigned Monday at a federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. He is accused of using the funds he embezzled through fraudulent grain transactions to purchase two properties in Monterey Park, California.
He is charged with conspiring to commit immigration fraud and international transport of stolen money, conspiracy to commit money laundering and three counts of engaging in financial transactions related to criminally derived property.
If convicted on all five counts, Mr. Qiao faces up to 55 years in federal prison.
Authorities in China and the United States say Mr. Qiao abused his position to launder millions of dollars through fraudulent transactions.
He has been on the run since November 2011. Swedish police arrested him in 2018 on a Chinese extradition request.
However, the United States’ interest in Mr. Qiao predates China’s concerns. Federal prosecutors in California indicted him in 2015.
Mr. Qiaos ex-wife, Shilan Zhao, 56, pleaded guilty in a Washington state federal court in January 2015. She admitted to conspiring with her husband to falsely portray themselves as still married and lying about the source of their income.
Ms. Zhao is scheduled to be sentenced in August, the Justice Department said.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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