Former Philippines mayor accused of China crime links arrested in Indonesia

Alice Guo is wanted for questioning after she failed to attend a Senate hearing investigating her alleged ties with organised crime.

Alice Guo, a former mayor in the Philippines accused of links to Chinese criminal syndicates, has been arrested in Indonesia.

The Ministry of Justice said Guo, who also has Chinese nationality and goes by the name Guo Hua Ping, is wanted by the Philippine Senate for refusing to attend a congressional investigation into her alleged criminal ties.

She has denied the allegations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen, facing “malicious accusations”.

“This development has been verified by our counterparts in Immigration, who have confirmed that Ms. Guo is currently in the custody of the Indonesian Police,” the Justice Department statement said.

Guo, the former mayor of Bamban town about 100km (62 miles) north of Manila, was arrested at 11:58pm on Tuesday in Tangerang City in Jakarta. A video shared by Indonesian media on X showed her being led along a white-walled staircase by enforcement officers.

Philippine law enforcement agencies, including the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), last month jointly filed multiple counts of money laundering against Guo and 35 others before the Department of Justice.

The AMLC has alleged that Guo and her co-conspirators laundered more than 100 million pesos ($1.8m) in proceeds from criminal activities.

Lawyer Stephen David, Guo’s counsel on record, did not immediately respond to a Reuters news agency request for comment.

“The arrest of Alice Guo is a testament to the tireless efforts of our law enforcement agencies and the strength of international cooperation in bringing fugitives to justice,” Justice Secretary Boying Remulla said in a statement, according to the ABS-CBN news channel in the Philippines.

Guo, who was removed from office as mayor, fled the country in July, travelling first to Malaysia and Singapore and then to Indonesia using her Philippine passport, the Philippine anti-crime agency has said.

The Senate began an investigation into her activities in May two months after authorities raided a casino in Bamban town and uncovered what law enforcement officials said were scams being perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the mayor.

The discovery prompted a public outcry and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr later ordered a ban on online gaming operators over their suspected links to organised crime.

Marcos has also promised to go after those who “aided in her flight”.

Authorities believe there could be several hundred illegal online gambling entities running scam centres under the noses of public officials.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies