Indonesia arrests former Philippine mayor wanted for illegal online gambling scams

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A ousted city mayor who fled the Philippines after being accused of helping set up an illegal online gambling and fraud hub catering mainly to customers in China has been arrested near the Indonesian capital, officials said Wednesday.

Indonesian authorities arrested Alice Guo at a house in Jakarta’s satellite city of Tangerang shortly before midnight Tuesday, according to Khrisna Murti, head of the national police’s international division.

Guo was in custody awaiting deportation to the Philippines, Murti said, adding that his arrest was the result of “cooperation between Indonesian and Philippine police.”

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked the Indonesian authorities.

“Let this serve as a warning to those who try to evade justice,” Marcos said, adding that arrangements were being made to bring Guo back to the Philippines, where she faces a series of criminal charges.

After fleeing the Philippines in July, Guo was hunted in Malaysia and Singapore before being tracked down in Indonesia. Two of her companions, who allegedly left the Philippines with her without going through the usual immigration and screening procedures, were recently arrested in Indonesia.

Guo ran as a Filipino candidate in the 2022 elections and was elected mayor of the rural town of Bamban in Tarlac province, north of Manila. She has been accused of helping to create a massive complex of several buildings near the city hall that allegedly served as a hub for an illegal online gambling and scam organization that primarily targeted customers in China, where gambling is banned.

A Senate committee ordered Guo’s arrest after she refused to appear at hearings into the illegal gambling business that flourished under Marcos’ predecessor Rodrigo Dutertewho has maintained close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping while often criticizing the United States and European countries.

Guo was also accused of concealing her Chinese nationality to run for public office, which is reserved for Filipino citizens. At the time, several senators suggested she may have been working as a Chinese spy.

Guo has denied any wrongdoing but was removed from her post for serious misconduct by the ombudsman, an agency that investigates and prosecutes government officials accused of crimes including corruption.

In July, Marcos ordered an immediate ban on large-scale online gaming, mainly run by Chinese. operations, accusing them of involvement in human trafficking, torture, kidnappings and murder.

The crackdown on Chinese-run online gaming companies – which number more than 400 in the Philippines and employ tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals – has been backed by Beijing.

This resulted in the Sprawling resorts in the Philippines to closewhere authorities suspect thousands of Chinese, Vietnamese and other nationals, mainly from Southeast Asia, of having been illegally recruited and forced to work in deplorable conditions.

Philippine senators say the massive online gambling industry has thrived largely on corrupt government regulators and bribes to officials.

Indonesia and the Philippines signed an extradition agreement in 1976.

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Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.