Third, the Cannes property involves three companies that are respectively registered in France, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands, where, understandably, different corporate laws and property laws apply. Ultimately, solving the issue also involves Chinese laws. Hence, China's approach to coordinating with these countries in the midst of different laws is another complicated issue.

The difficulty China experiences when tracking down fugitives overseas also occurs between Western countries. An official working at France's Justice Department admitted they encounter similar obstacles when dealing with their Western allies. Even when an illegal asset is recovered, the countries involved all want a share of its value.

The official noted that the country that initiates an application to investigate overseas assets has to provide sound evidence to show that the asset was obtained illegally. If the evidence is insufficient, the application will likely be denied. Moreover, Western countries focus on procedural laws, a fact that deserves China's attention. If law enforcement departments fail to strictly follow procedural laws, the offenders are likely to escape.

To sum up, tracking down fugitive corrupted officials and recovering their illegal assets from abroad is still a difficult but necessary task. The public needs to be fully aware of its complications, because it is beyond the strength of one country alone and requires all-around cooperation from different countries. One has to understand that such an important undertaking cannot not be accomplished overnight because it calls for support from all sides.

The writer is a France-based media practitioner.

The article was translated by Chen Boyuan. The original unabridged version was published in Chinese.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.