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PHL arrests ‘high-profile’ Chinese fugitive wanted for corruption


Philippine authorities have arrested a Chinese fugitive wanted by Beijing for allegedly stealing public funds worth an equivalent of P11 billion.

Xie Haojie, 49, is first “high-profile” foreign fugitive the Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested this year, Commissioner Jaime Morente said at a press briefing Wednesday, when Xie was turned over to Chinese police in Manila.

Xie fled China and hid in the Philippines starting March 2018, dodging arrest until he finally fell to local immigration operatives at his condominium unit in Pasay City last Sunday.

He is under investigation in China for allegedly embezzling public funds and taking bribes in his capacity as general manager of a state-owned enterprise, said La Yifan, the director for international cooperation of Beijing’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The Chinese official said evidence from the investigation indicates Xie has breached the public trust and abused his public position for private gains.

Xie will be deported to China as soon as Chinese officials procure plane tickets for his return, Morente said. In the meantime, he will stay detained at a facility of the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit.

The case was relayed to the Philippines by the Chinese counterpart of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, which then coordinated with the BI to locate Xie, according to a separate statement from the bureau.

At the time of his arrest, Xie was considered an undocumented alien as his passport had already been revoked by the Chinese government, the BI said. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News

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