U.S. border authorities have arrested fugitive property tycoon Zeng Wei and are keeping him in custody in Saipan pending his extradition to Hong kong.
Zeng is wanted by Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Correption (ICAC) for his alleged role in a multi-million dollar bribery case. He was considered to have fled justice when he failed to appear in court in July 2011 to answer corruption charges involving executives of the Industrial and Construction Bank of China in Hong kong. He has been on the Interpol's red alert list since October 2011.
On Jan. 16, U.S. border authorities in Saipan nabbed Zeng for presenting questionable documents upon his arrival from Shanghai. He showed a Chinese passport that falsely identified him as Zhiqian Liu, born on Feb. 5, 1963. A scan of his fingerprints, however, revealed that the man claiming to be Zhiqian Liu was actually Wei Zeng, born on Dec. 26, 1962.
Zeng, posting as Zhiqian Liu, was trying to enter the U.S. territory on a visitor visa, and records showed that the real Zeng had previously been denied a visa by the State Department due to his fugitive status. The Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the North Marianas Islands ordered the continued detention of Zeng while waiting for a formal request from the ICAC for his extradition.
The ICAC says it is in the process of filing extradition papers and expects the process to be completed within 60 days.
Prior to his troubles in Hong Kong, Zeng had made a name for himself as a real estate developer and was involved in the development of the Beijing Palm Spring Apartments which is considered one of the city's most high-end housing communities.