A Chinese fugitive wanted by Interpol has been arrested in Thailand over alleged embezzlement in his home country.

Wu, 40, was said to have been living the high life as he hid in a luxury housing estate in Bangkok.

Police staked out the upmarket home in Taling Chan district after neighbours reported 'suspicious activity'. They claimed the reclusive homeowner rarely stepped outside his house on Ratchapruek Road but was often visited by a steady stream of Chinese visitors.

After a week of surveillance, undercover agents posing as security guards spotted a white Volvo collecting Wu from the neighbourhood on November 12 - the first time he was seen outside since monitoring began.

The cops swooped in and detained him as he was returning home in the early hours of November 13.

Footage shows officers dragging the alleged fugitive out of the car and demanding his passport. Wu produced a Vanuatu passport showing his Thai visa had expired earlier this year. He was arrested for overstaying and taken to the Immigration Bureau for questioning.

During interrogation, Wu kept insisting he was of Vanuatu nationality. But authorities later confirmed with Chinese law enforcement that he was wanted for corporate embezzlement in China's Guangdong province.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Suriya Phuangsombat of Immigration Division 1 said: 'In 2018, M. Wu, formerly the head of sales for a luxury real estate project in China, used his position to trick 48 homebuyers by offering them 'special prices'.

'He had them transfer money into his personal bank account, allegedly to receive a discount. The total damage was estimated at over 50 million yuan, or more than 250 million baht (5.8 million GBP).'

Wu then fled China and allegedly purchased a Vanuatu citizenship, which he used to hide from Chinese authorities for seven years.

Interpol issued a red notice in 2025 to track him as a transnational criminal before his arrest in Thailand.

The Immigration Bureau said it will expand the investigation to trace assets such as houses and luxury cars, as well as other suspects who may have helped Wu.

(1 GBP = 42.50 THB)