Indonesia arrests fugitive former mayor of Philippine city wanted for illegal online gaming fraud

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A deposed city mayor who fled the Philippines after being accused of helping set up an illegal online gaming and fraud center that catered mostly to customers from China has been arrested near the Indonesian capital, officials said Wednesday.

Indonesian authorities arrested Alice Guo just before midnight on Tuesday at a home in Tangerang, a satellite city of Jakarta, said Khrisna Murti, head of the international division of the National Police.

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

President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked the Indonesian authorities.

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

After Guo fled the Philippines in July, she was tracked to Malaysia and Singapore before turning up in Indonesia. Two companions who reportedly slipped out of the Philippines with her without going through normal immigration and customs procedures were recently arrested in Indonesia.

Guo ran as a Filipino candidate in the 2022 elections and won the mayoral election for the rural town of Bamban in Tarlac province north of Manila. She was accused of helping set up a massive complex with several buildings near city hall as a hub for illegal online gambling and scams that mainly catered to customers from China, where gambling is banned.

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

Guo was also accused of concealing his Chinese citizenship to run for public office, which is reserved exclusively for Filipino citizens. At the time, several senators suggested he might be working as a Chinese spy.

Guo denies any wrongdoing but was dismissed from her position for serious misconduct by the Ombudsman, an agency that investigates and prosecutes government officials accused of crimes including corruption and bribery.

In July Marcos ordered immediate ban on widespread and mostly Chinese-run online gaming operations, accusing them of involvement in human trafficking, torture, kidnapping and murder.

Beijing has backed a crackdown on Chinese online gambling sites — which number more than 400 in the Philippines and employ tens of thousands of Chinese and Southeast Asian nationals.

This led to closure of extensive complexes in the PhilippinesAuthorities suspect that thousands of citizens of China, Vietnam and other countries, mainly from Southeast Asia, have been illegally recruited and forced to work in terrible conditions.

Philippine senators say the massive online gambling industry has flourished largely due to corruption in government regulatory agencies and large bribes to officials.

Indonesia and the Philippines signed an extradition treaty in 1976.

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