JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian immigration officials have arrested a Chinese suspect, known only by the initials LQ, who is wanted by Beijing for his role in a $14 billion investment scam targeting clients in China.
The 39-year-old man was apprehended on October 1 at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, where he was prevented from boarding a flight to Singapore. Biometric data from the airport’s registry identified him as a suspect sought by Chinese authorities, leading to his arrest, according to Silmy Karim, the immigration chief at Indonesia’s law and human rights ministry. He had been on an Interpol warrant since late September.
LQ arrived in Bali from Singapore on September 26 using a Turkish passport under the name Joe Lin, just a day before Interpol issued a Red Notice for him—a request for law enforcement agencies worldwide to detain him.
At a news conference in Jakarta, the suspect, dressed in an orange detainee shirt and wearing a facemask, did not make any statements. Karim remarked, “He was wrong to use Indonesia as a transit country, let alone as a destination to hide,” praising the technological cooperation between immigration and national police.
Krishna Murti, head of the international division of the National Police, stated that determining whether to deport or extradite LQ to China will take some time. Authorities need to verify his citizenship status and whether his Turkish passport is legitimate.
“We have to respect the suspect’s rights,” Murti noted, adding that LQ had not committed any violations in Indonesia.
Beijing has accused LQ of collecting over 100 billion Chinese Yuan (approximately $14 billion) from more than 50,000 victims in a Ponzi scheme. Indonesia’s strategic location makes it a target for organized crime, with its multicultural society appealing to local and international criminals.
In recent months, Indonesia has also detained other fugitives linked to Chinese criminal networks. Last month, Alice Guo, a former mayor from the Philippines, was arrested and subsequently deported. In June, Chaowalit Thongduang, one of Thailand’s most wanted, was returned to Thailand after being apprehended in Bali.
