Indonesia arrests Chinese national wanted by China over money laundering charges

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities have arrested a Chinese national sought by Beijing for allegedly helping transfer and laundering almost US$18 million from a criminal online gambling group in China, officials said on Thursday (Dec 5).

Yan Zhenxing was detained on Monday by immigration officers at a cross-border ferry terminal in Batam.

Yuldi Yusman, the Director of Immigration Supervision and Enforcement, said Yan was arrested following an Interpol red notice for him. The notices request law enforcement agencies worldwide to detain or arrest a suspect wanted by a specific country.

Yusman said Yan, a permanent resident of Singapore, was arriving in Batam for a holiday with his family when he was detained.

Indonesian authorities brought the suspect, wearing a detainee’s orange shirt and a face mask, to a news conference on Thursday in the capital of Jakarta.

The suspect did not make any statements and was not asked any questions.

Yusman said that Yan was named as a suspect by police in China’s Inner Mongolia region who allege he was involved in transferring and laundering more than 130 million yuan (US$17.9 million) from a criminal online gambling group.

He said Yan was handed to Indonesia’s National Central Bureau Interpol in Jakarta on Thursday and a decision to deport or extradite him to China will take some time.

The arrest came just two months after immigration officers on the tourist island of Bali arrested a Chinese suspect sought by Beijing who allegedly helped to run investment scams that brought in over US$14 billion from clients in China.

“We are committed to protecting Indonesia’s territory from the arrival of foreign nationals who are not useful and threaten national stability,” Yusman said.

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