Philippine Bureau of Immigration Arrests Chinese Fugitive Wanted Over $706,000 Telecom Fraud
Key Takeaways
- •The Bureau of Immigration arrested Chinese national Chen Yongzhou, 39, in Parañaque City on Oct. 14 after the Chinese Embassy in Manila sought his deportation to face fraud charges in China.
- •Chinese authorities allege the syndicate cheated victims of more than 4.73 million renminbi, or about $706,000, through voice phishing operations conducted from abroad between 2023 and 2024.
- •The scheme involved random WeChat calls, romance-based persuasion, and a fraudulent investment platform falsely associated with the Shanghai Gold Exchange.
- •Chen's overstay since entering the Philippines as a tourist in June 2018 provides the immigration basis for the deportation case.
- •He is currently held at Parañaque City Jail in connection with a murder case that will proceed separately from the deportation proceeding.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has arrested a Chinese national wanted in China for his alleged role in a telecommunications fraud syndicate that cheated victims of more than 4.73 million renminbi, or roughly $706,000, the agency said.
In a statement on Monday, the BI said Chen Yongzhou, 39, was apprehended in Parañaque City on Oct. 14, based on a report by Fugitive Search Unit Chief Rendel Ryan Sy to Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado.
According to the bureau, a mission order — an enforcement directive the BI issues to authorize the arrest of a foreign national facing deportation — was issued for Mr. Chen's arrest after the Chinese Embassy in Manila requested his deportation so he could face criminal proceedings in China. Deportation cases of this kind proceed on Philippine immigration grounds rather than on the foreign criminal charges themselves.
Chinese authorities alleged that the syndicate operated from abroad between 2023 and 2024, using voice phishing — fraud carried out through phone or internet calls — to target victims in China, Mr. Sy said. The group allegedly placed random calls through WeChat, cultivated romantic relationships with its targets, and then persuaded them to send gold to designated recharge points and invest in a fraudulent platform purportedly linked to the Shanghai Gold Exchange. Pairing romance-based persuasion with the name of a legitimate institution is a common trust-building device in such schemes, and it is the pattern Chinese authorities described in the alleged operations.
BI records showed that Mr. Chen last arrived in the Philippines in June 2018 as a tourist and subsequently overstayed, the agency said — an immigration violation that can serve as the legal basis for deportation under Philippine rules. He is currently detained at the Parañaque City Jail in connection with a pending murder case before the Regional Trial Court, which will proceed separately from the deportation proceeding, the BI added. Attention now turns to how the two proceedings unfold — the deportation case before the bureau and the murder case before the Regional Trial Court — and whether Mr. Chen is deported to China to face the alleged charges.
"The Philippines must never become a hiding place for foreign fugitives," Mr. Viado said, adding that the bureau will coordinate with international partners.
— Erika Mae P. Sinaking
Source: BusinessWorld
