Junket casino operators linked to Que kidnap-slay identified

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified two junket casino operators that allegedly handled the ransom money following the kidnapping and killing of Chinese-Filipino businessman Anson Que and his driver.

In a press conference Monday at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson P/BGen. Jean Fajardo identified the operators under investigation as the Nine Dynasty Group owned by Mark Ong and the White First Club whose owner has yet to be identified.

Mark Ong, whose real name is Li Duan Wang, was originally from Fujian, China. In 1991, he moved to the Philippines and went on to establish a diverse range of businesses in gaming, IT support and cryptocurrency.

Fajardo said the junket operators’ authority to operate and their junket agreements with two casinos will be revoked.

She said the ransom paid by Que’s family was routed through the two junket operators before being transferred to a cryptocurrency wallet.

Fajardo explained that tracking the funds becomes highly challenging once they are transferred to cryptocurrency wallets.

Meanwhile, Fajardo said one of the accounts used to transfer the ransom paid by Que’s family has been traced to a Chinese national who had previously sent funds to another Chinese national recently arrested for espionage in the Philippines.

“One of the accounts of a Lin Ning on 7 June 2023 sent a huge amount through an e-wallet to Ni Quinhui,” she said, adding that the name of Ni Quinhui appeared in a report published on 26 February that identified him as one of the individuals apprehended by the National Bureau of Investigation “for espionage.”

Bounty increased

Meanwhile, the PNP has issued an international Red Notice for Kelly Tan Lim, who remains at large and is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the kidnap-slay of Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo.

Fajardo said the reward for Lim’s capture has been raised to P10 million from P5 million.

“The reward has been raised to ₱10 million for anyone who can provide information leading to the swift capture of Lim,” Fajardo said.

The PNP earlier named five suspects in the killing of Que and his driver, including those already in custody — David Tan Liao, Richardo Austria, and Reymart Catequista, and those at large, Jonin Lin and Kelly Lim.

Fajardo said Liao and Lim were the supposed masterminds.