Michael Ching Mo Yeung (left), pictured in 2011, and the image of Cheng Muyang that accompanies an Interpol Red Notice seeking his arrest. (Photo/SCMP)
(ECNS) -- Canada has confirmed prominent Vancouver developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung as a high-profile Chinese economic fugitive wanted by Interpol, though the man's lawyer says he is not guilty.
Ching lost a bid for refugee status because he is wanted by Chinese authorities for embezzlement, reported the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, citing Immigration and Refugee Board documents from the Winnipeg Federal Court.
The IRB documents state that the 45-year-old developer is also known as Cheng Muyang in Chinese, a man identified on an Interpol arrest warrant. Ching's application was rejected because he may have "committed a serious, non-political crime outside of Canada".
His lawyer, David Matas, said Ching is indeed wanted by China but is not guilty. David also worked as lawyer for Lai Changxing, another fugitive already brought back to China.
Ching, known as Cheng Muyang in China, is the president and CEO of Mo Yeung International Enterprise. He is sought by the People's Procuratorate of Qiaoxi district in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei province, for graft and concealing and transferring illegal gains. He is also on a list of 100 most wanted Chinese economic fugitives issued by Interpol worldwide last week.
The 45 year-old is the son of Cheng Weigao, a former Communist Party chief of Hebei province. The elder Cheng was investigated and expelled from the Party for corruption in 2003, before he died in 2013.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada media relations officer Remi Lariviere said Canada will not tolerate criminals and swindlers who take advantage of the country's generosity, Beijing News reported.
The officer also urged those involved in any wrongdoings to either leave Canada on their own or face deportation.
