JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian immigration officials have detained a Chinese national on Bali, sought by Beijing for his involvement in a massive $14 billion investment scam targeting clients in China.
The 39-year-old suspect, identified only by the initials LQ, was arrested on October 1 when he attempted to leave for Singapore but was stopped by the immigration auto-gate at Ngurah Rai International Airport. His biometric information flagged him as a wanted individual based on an Interpol warrant issued in late September, according to Silmy Karim, the head of Indonesia’s law and human rights ministry.
LQ arrived in Bali from Singapore under the name Joe Lin using a Turkish passport on September 26, just one day before Interpol issued a Red Notice requesting his arrest globally.
During a press conference in Jakarta, the suspect, dressed in an orange detainee outfit and wearing a facemask, remained silent and did not answer questions from the media.
“He was mistaken to think he could use Indonesia as a transit or hiding spot,” Karim remarked, praising the technological advancements and collaboration between immigration officials and the national police.
Krishna Murti, the chief of the international division of the National Police, noted that it will take time to determine whether to deport or extradite the suspect to China. They need to ascertain whether he has genuinely obtained Turkish citizenship or if he entered Indonesia using a fraudulent passport.
“We have to respect the suspect’s rights,” Murti emphasized, adding that there have been no violations committed within Indonesia.
The Chinese government named LQ a suspect after he allegedly orchestrated a Ponzi scheme that defrauded over 50,000 people, accumulating more than 100 billion Chinese Yuan (approximately $14 billion).
Indonesia’s geographical positioning as an archipelago between Asia and the South Pacific makes it a target for organized crime, both locally and internationally.
Recently, Indonesia made headlines for arresting Alice Guo, a former mayor from the Philippines linked to Chinese criminal organizations, who was subsequently deported back to her home country. Earlier, in June, Thai fugitive Chaowalit Thongduang was captured in Bali and returned to Thailand after being linked to several killings and drug trafficking cases.
Credit: ABC News
