A Korean-American, who is wanted in South Korea for telecommunications fraud, has been arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Sunday, July 21.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the arrested foreigner as Jason Han Hsu, 37, who is the subject of a red notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Hsu, who is a holder of an American passport, was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 3 last July 17 before he could board his flight to Osaka, Japan.
“Upon confirming that the passenger and the subject of the Interpol notice are one and the same, the immigration supervisors on duty decided to put Hsu under arrest,” Tansingco said.
In statement, the BI said that "authorities alleged that from May 2018 to November 2019, Hsu worked for a voice phishing syndicate which operated in China from where it made calls to its victims in Korea."
“The victims were reportedly told that they could borrow large amounts of money at low interest provided they send the amount of money they intend to loan to designated bank accounts owned by Hsu and his cohorts,” it said.
It also said that an estimated $1.06 million was amassed by the syndicate through the racket.
In the meantime, Hsu is detained at the BI’s custodial facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City while awaiting deportation.
One deported, Hsu will be placed in the immigration blacklist and banned from returning to the Philippines, the BI said.