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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Immigration officer convicted for fabricating travel records of fugitive Wirecard exec

Immigration officer convicted for fabricating travel records of fugitive Wirecard exec

Published Oct 19, 2023 04:25 am

A Bureau of Immigration (BI) officer has been convicted in the falsification of travel records which showed that former Wirecard chief operating officer Jan Marsalek was in the Philippines although he did not arrive and leave the country in 2020.

In a statement, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that BI officer Marcos S. Nicodemus has been found guilty by the Pasay City regional trial court (RTC) of violations of Republic Act No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act, and RA 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

An official copy of the RTC decision was not given by the NBI.  It said that Nicodemus "was sentenced by the court to a maxiumum imprisonment of nine years for each of the criminal cases with perpetual disqualification to hold public office."

The NBI said that Marsalek, an Austrian national, has been wanted by the German government for his involvement in the $2.2 billion Wirecard fraud.  

The Philippine government joined the hunt for Marsalek in 2020 due to Wirecard’s links in the country and discovered travel records that showed that the Austrian came to the Philippines in 2020.

On order issued by then Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary and now Solicitor General Menardo I. Guevarra, the NBI conducted an investigation.

In August 2020, the NBI “recommended to the DOJ the prosecution of subject Marcos Nicodemus for falsifying the travel records of an Austrian national.”

The NBI said: "Investigation conducted by NBI-IAID (NBI-International Airport Investigation Division) revealed that based on Marsalek’s travel records, he arrived in the Philippines thru NAIA Terminal 1 on June 23, 2020, processed by Immigration Officer (IO) Darren Ilagan but with a mysterious 'cancelled by user' remark and departure on June 24, 2020 at Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA) processed by Immigration Officer (IO) Perry Michael Pancho."  

It also said: “However, NBI-IAID discovered thru CCTV (closed circuit television) footages that Marsalek never entered the Philippines and he did not even depart thru MCIA." 

"Marsalek’s records were found to be spurious due to the following: existing immigrations protocol as of that date disallowing passengers in entering Philippine territory due to COVID situation; absence of actual scanned data page of the passport; existing protocol that incoming flights of airlines disallowing the boarding of a passenger who will be prevented entry based on the destination country’s protocol as of flight date," the NBI said.

It said that Ilagan testified that Nicodemus, who was his supervisor, “ordered him to conduct a derogatory check upon Marsalek despite the fact that he is already not on duty on that date and that Marsalek is not present during checking.” 

Back in 2020, then DOJ secretary Guevarra said that the travel records of the Marsalek were falsified possibly as “diversionary tactics to mislead Marsalek's pursuers.”

Related Tags

Wirecard AG National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Bureau of Immigration
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