Guo fled the nation after she didn’t attend a Senate listening to investigating her alleged ties with Chinese language organised crime.
Alice Guo, a former mayor within the Philippines accused of hyperlinks to Chinese language felony syndicates, has been arrested in Indonesia.
The Ministry of Justice mentioned Guo, who additionally has Chinese language nationality and goes by the title Guo Hua Ping, is needed by the Philippine Senate for refusing to attend a congressional investigation into her alleged felony ties.
She has denied the allegations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen, dealing with “malicious accusations”.
“This improvement has been verified by our counterparts in Immigration, who’ve confirmed that Ms. Guo is at the moment within the custody of the Indonesian Police,” the Justice Division assertion mentioned.
Guo, the previous mayor of Bamban city about 100km (62 miles) north of Manila, was arrested at 11:58pm on Tuesday in Tangerang Metropolis in Jakarta. A video shared by Indonesian media on X confirmed her being led alongside a white-walled staircase by enforcement officers.
Philippine legislation enforcement companies, together with the Anti-Cash Laundering Council (AMLC), final month collectively filed a number of counts of cash laundering in opposition to Guo and 35 others earlier than the Division of Justice.
The AMLC has alleged that Guo and her co-conspirators laundered greater than 100 million pesos ($1.8m) in proceeds from felony actions.
Lawyer Stephen David, Guo’s counsel on document, didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters information company request for remark.
“The arrest of Alice Guo is a testomony to the tireless efforts of our legislation enforcement companies and the power of worldwide cooperation in bringing fugitives to justice,” Justice Secretary Boying Remulla mentioned in a press release, based on the ABS-CBN information channel within the Philippines.
Guo, who was faraway from workplace as mayor, fled the nation in July, travelling first to Malaysia and Singapore after which to Indonesia utilizing her Philippine passport, the Philippine anti-crime company has mentioned.
The Senate started an investigation into her actions in Might two months after authorities raided a on line casino in Bamban city and uncovered what legislation enforcement officers mentioned have been scams being perpetrated from a facility constructed on land partially owned by the mayor.
The invention prompted a public outcry and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr later ordered a ban on on-line gaming operators over their suspected hyperlinks to organised crime.
Marcos has additionally promised to go after those that “aided in her flight”.
Authorities imagine there could possibly be a number of hundred unlawful on-line playing entities working scam centres underneath the noses of public officers.