Authorities on Indonesia’s popular tourist island of Bali have arrested a Filipino fugitive accused of defrauding clients in the Philippines out of more than $67 million.
Hector Aldwin Pantollana, a 35-year-old casino junket operator widely known in the Philippines, was apprehended on November 9 at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali. The arrest followed an alert triggered by an automatic immigration gate that identified Pantollana as a wanted individual through biometric data, according to Saffar M. Godam, Acting Director General of Indonesia’s Immigration and Correctional Ministry.
Pantollana arrived in Bali on October 10, and on October 31, Interpol issued a Red Notice for his arrest. The notice, which requests law enforcement worldwide to apprehend a wanted individual, led to his capture in Bali.
Following his arrest, Pantollana was transferred to Jakarta for further investigation and is set to be deported back to the Philippines on Wednesday, Godam confirmed.
The Philippines’ National Police named Pantollana as a suspect in a scam where he allegedly collected over 4 billion Philippine pesos (approximately $67.7 million) from thousands of victims, promising them fake investment opportunities.
Untung Widyatmoko, head of Indonesia’s National Central Bureau Interpol, commended the cooperation between Indonesian immigration and the national police in apprehending foreign criminals trying to evade justice in Indonesia. He emphasized that this collaboration is part of broader efforts to combat transnational crime in the ASEAN region.
Indonesia, due to its strategic location between Asia and the South Pacific and its diverse society, has become an attractive haven for global criminals. In recent months, Bali has seen several high-profile arrests of fugitives involved in large-scale international scams.
In October, immigration officers in Bali detained a Chinese suspect wanted by Beijing for his role in investment scams that defrauded over $14 billion from Chinese clients. Additionally, in September, Alice Guo, a fugitive former mayor from the Philippines with alleged ties to Chinese criminal syndicates, was arrested and deported. Earlier in June, Thai fugitive Chaowalit Thongduang, wanted for multiple murders and drug trafficking, was captured in Bali and returned to Thailand.
These cases highlight Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to crack down on international fugitives seeking refuge within its borders.
