BI nabs 2 Chinese fugitives in Cebu, Parañaque

Two additional Chinese fugitives, captured by BI agents in Cebu and Metro Manila, are scheduled for deportation, according to a Bureau of Immigration (BI) report.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the two captured fugitives as Zhu Yuanjiang, 25, and Ma Mingjie, 51, who were arrested last week in separate operations conducted by the BI Fugitive Search Unit (BI-FSU).

According to the BI-FUS, Zhu was arrested on 17 April in Bgy. Umapad, Mandaue City, while Ma was apprehended two days after the arrest of Zhu at his residence in a subdivision in Parañaque City.

Tansingco said that Zhu's arrests were based on a deportation warrant that the BI Board of Commissioners issued against him when it ordered his expulsion from the country earlier this year.

He was served with a deportation order for overstaying, and the BI's investigation also found that he had been working in the country without the necessary permits or visas from the bureau.

It was learned that Zhu had previously been employed by Xinchuang Network Technology Inc., a Pasay City-based online gambling center that was raided by the local police in June 2023 on suspicion of engaging in a number of illegal crimes, including cyber fraud and human trafficking.

Meanwhile, Ma was apprehended as he was a wanted criminal in China, where he was accused of contract fraud. A warrant of arrest was issued against him by the Jiangbei District Sub-bureau of the Public Security Bureau in Chongqing, China on 6 December 2017.

According to the Chinese authorities, over 58 million yuan, or more than US$8 million, were allegedly transferred illegally from China Minsheng Banking Corporation to Ma's altered bank account as a result of Ma and his cohorts allegedly deliberately tampering with the bank accounts and account names of a point of sale (POS) machine merchant.

Both Chinese nationals are now detained at the BI Warden Facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while awaiting their deportation proceedings.