Indonesia Arrests Man Suspected of Laundering Illegal Gambling Proceeds

A Chinese national believed to be a part of an illegal gambling syndicate has been arrested in Indonesia. The man, who’s been sought by the Chinese authorities for some time, is also believed to have laundered millions of dollars from the illegal operation.

Criminal with Ties to Illegal Gambling Has Been Arrested

Beijing had issued an Interpol red notice for Yan Zhenxing, claiming that the man had laundered almost $18 million via illegal gambling. This significant sum has come from a criminal online gambling platform linked to organized crime, Chinese authorities said.

On December 2, Yan was arrested by the Indonesian authorities at a cross-border ferry terminal near Singapore. He was reportedly arriving in Batam for a holiday with his family. Yan has since been carried off to the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. He appeared at a news conference last week but was not asked questions and did not make comments.

Yuldi Yusman, the director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Directorate General of Immigration, confirmed that the arrest was in response to the red notice by the Chinese government. He promised that his team will continue to collaborate with Interpol and other international organizations in order to crack down on crime and protect Indonesia from foreign fraudsters.

Singapore Could Not Intervene

Interestingly, the Singapore police had intervened previously. Yan had thus been able to live in Singapore as a permanent resident, despite Interpol’s red notice. This unusual situation raised questions and caused Bloomberg to contact the Singaporean authorities.

Singaporean authorities explained that the Interpol notice does not necessarily provide them with the authority to arrest a foreign national. Instead, the local police could only make such an arrest if it had received an extradition request that fulfills all necessary requirements from China.

Since no such request had been received in Singapore, the police were effectively unable to do anything.

In other news, the Communications Minister of Malaysia, Fahmi Fadzil, just proposed a bill that would introduce stricter cybercrime laws amid an increase in illegal online casinos.

Elsewhere, the US authorities arrested the assailant of a woman in the parking lot of the Hustler Casino in California. The man, accused of stealing the woman’s purse and breaking her teeth, is also believed to be behind a series of robberies.