The Bureau of Immigration arrested a Chinese fugitive wanted in his country for economic crimes and swindling more than 1,000 of his compatriots of large sums of money in a pyramiding investment scam.
The fugitive, identified as Qian Bingxu, will be deported following his arrest at a five-star hotel in Pasay City by operatives from the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit.
“We will deport him not only because he is a fugitive from justice. He is also an undocumented alien as his passport was already canceled by the Chinese government,” he said.
The BI chief added, “He [Qian] had been hiding in the country since November last year and there is no record that he applied for an extension of his stay as a tourist which indicates he was already overstaying when arrested.”
The Chinese Embassy said that Qian was issued an arrest warrant by the public security bureau in Liaoyuan, China where he was charged with illegally accepting deposits from 1,100 people who were promised high returns on their investments.
Qian allegedly persuaded the victims by word of mouth and assured them their money would be returned with interest upon demand.
He later absconded with the victims’ funds and fled to Manila.
Official sources said by the time the case against Qian was filed in late 2018, over 80 million Chinese yuan or more than $12 million of principal investments remained unpaid, thus causing the victims to suffer huge economic losses.
According to BI Intelligence Officer and FSU Chief Bobby Raquepo, Qian could be sentenced to a maximum jail term of 10 years if convicted of the charges against him.
“He will also be blacklisted and banned from reentering the Philippines after being deported,” Raquepo added.
