Filtered By: Topstories
News

BI arrests 12 South Koreans over online business scam


Twelve South Koreans wanted by authorities in their home country for allegedly operating an online business scam have been arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The Koreans were arrested on Wednesday following an operation on the suspects’ lair at the Gramercy Residences in Poblacion, Makati City.

Those arrested were identified as Noh Heamin, Park Jeongho, Kim Sun Jang, Lee Hyanglim, Yoon Daseul, Kim Sunghoon, Jeong Miseon, Park Mingyu, Park Youngju, Park Hyunmyeung, Park Chanju, and Lee Hyunho.

On Friday, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said it was the South Korean Embassy in Manila which reported the fugitives’ presence in the country and sought the BI’s help in having them deported so they could stand trial for their crimes.

"Their embassy has confirmed that all 12 of them are subjects of arrest warrants issued by various Korean courts where they have been charged with large-scale fraud,” the BI chief said.

The Koreans will be deported as soon as the BI board of commissioners issues the order for their summary deportation.

They will also be placed in the bureau’s blacklist to prevent them from re-entering the Philippines.

According to the South Korean Embassy, the suspects were involved in an online fraud scheme that preyed on unsuspecting Korean victims living here and in their own country.

The suspects allegedly duped their compatriots into investing their money in bogus real estate projects in the Philippines. — Virgil Lopez/RSJ, GMA News

LOADING CONTENT