China has asked Sweden to extradite a man who is being held near Stockholm on suspicion of gross fraud and embezzlement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said on Friday.
The authority’s spokeswoman Karin Rosander declined to name the man sought by China but said police arrested him on June 25 and he was being detained in the town of Huddinge.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was unaware of the case and did not say much about it.
Rosander said the Swedish National Anti-Corruption Unit has opened an investigation to verify the accusations against the man and determine whether there are grounds for extradition.
When asked whether he would be sent home, she said: “It depends on what accusations and the conditions in China and several other considerations.”
Swedish law prevents the authorities from extraditing someone to a country where they would face the death penalty.
Rosander said this, along with the fact that charges against the individual had not yet been verified, were considerations in the prosecutor’s deliberations.
A spokesperson for the Swedish Foreign Office did not immediately have a comment on the matter. (Reuters/NAN)
