Indonesia arrests Filipino fugitive accused of US$67 million investment scam

Authorities on the Indonesian tourist island of Bali have arrested a Filipino fugitive accused of helping to defraud customers in the Philippines of more than $67 million, officials said Tuesday.

Hector Aldwin Pantollana, 35, widely known in the Philippines as a casino operator, was arrested on November 9 when an automated gate at immigration at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport identified him as a wanted person using biometric data, said Saffar M. Godam, Acting Director General of Immigration at the Indonesian Ministry of Immigration and Correctional Affairs.

He said Pantollana first arrived in Bali on October 10, and on October 31, Interpol issued a so-called Red Notice for him, a request to law enforcement agencies around the world to detain or arrest a suspect identified by a specific country is being sought.

Indonesian authorities have taken the suspect to the Indonesian capital Jakarta for further investigation and will deport Pantollana to the Philippines on Wednesday, Godam said.

Interpol Indonesian National Central Bureau chief Untung Widyatmoko said Pantollana was named as a suspect by the Philippine National Police after he allegedly collected more than 4 billion Philippine pesos ($67.7 million) from thousands people for fake investments.

Widyatmoko praised the cooperation between immigration and the national police in catching foreign criminals who tried to hide in Indonesia.