Australian, Filipino guards arrested for alleged large-scale estafa

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A 52-year old Australian national with an Interpol notice was nabbed by authorities, and his Filipino bodyguards—some of them former and current government employees—were also arrested.

In a "24 Oras" report from John Consulta on Friday, the Australian national was wanted in India for criminal conspiracy, which is equivalent to large-scale estafa in the Philippines.

The suspect allegedly diverted funds from an Indian company and stole P1.6 billion.

“Matagal nang permanent resident dito sa atin. At sinasabi rin na yung kaso niya sa India ay lumabas lamang itong Marso nitong taong ito. Kaya agad nagpadala ng request sa atin ng Interpol upang siya ay hulihin. Kumita siya ng humigit-kumulang $27 million sa pamamagitan ng pag-forge ng mga pekeng dokumento at pagkuha ng mga kontrata,” Bureau of Immigration Fugitive Search Unit (BI FSU) Chief Rendel Sy said.

(He has been a longtime permanent resident. And his case in India came out just in March of this year. So Interpol immediately sent out a request to catch him. He profited around $27 million through forging fake documents and getting contracts.)

Authorities were also able to recover three guns from the guards.

Out of the seven arrested bodyguards, one of them was a retired Philippine Army soldier, while three of them were active personnel of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). There were also two other motorcycle security escorts.

The Australian has been using a security detail since 2013 whenever he was in the Philippines. Because of his cases, the BI said that his permanent resident visa will be revoked.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will also impound the motorcycles of the MMDA personnel because of unauthorized use of blinkers, sirens, and the use of fake plates.

LTO Chief Asec. Marcus Lacanilao said that the MV file numbers of the two motorcycles were nearly identical, with only one digit off. This should be impossible, he said.

“Kaya nung pag-verify namin, peke itong dalawang ‘to,” Lacanilao said. (When we verified this, these two are fake.)

MMDA chairman Romando Artes said that they are investigating the matter. —Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News