The Philippine National Police said it considers the murder of Filipino-Chinese steel magnate Congyuan Guo, also known as Anson Tan or Anson Que, as solved with the arrest of two additional suspects, even as authorities continue efforts to recover the ransom money paid by his family.
In a press briefing yesterday, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo confirmed that Gong Wen Li, also known as Kelly Tan Lim, and her hairdresser, Wu Jiabing, were arrested in a hotel at Boracay last Saturday by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) operatives.
Kelly allegedly played a central role in the crime, luring Que to the location where he was abducted and using the victim’s phone to negotiate a ransom with the family, according to reports.
Later, the suspect allegedly used the personal phone of Que to negotiate ransom payment with his family while holding him captive in a building at Martha Street in Meycauayan, Bulacan.
According to the police, the suspect also knew how the ransom money was transferred through an e-wallet platform and converted to cryptocurrency.
“Our objective is to recover this huge amount of money the family paid,” Fajardo said.
It was disclosed the kidnappers initially demanded a ransom of P20 million, but Que’s family ended up paying P200 million in cryptocurrency through multiple transactions.
The police spokesperson said junket operators 9 Dynasty Group and White Horse Group were used to “launder illegal money,” adding they are now looking for possible means and solutions to address the loopholes in the said law that enable such illegal transactions.
She noted that the Anti-Money Laundering Council has jurisdiction over casinos but not junket operators.
“The casino’s threshold should be half a million pesos — they are required to report when there is a transaction of half a million,” Fajardo said.
“But when it comes to junket operators, the one who has responsibility in terms of reportorial requirements, it should be the casino. AMLC’s fangs do not extend to junket operators,” she added.
Meanwhile, Tan’s companion Wu Jiabing, underwent inquest proceedings for undesirability and other violations of immigration laws.
Wu, allegedly a hairdresser, will also face charges of obstruction of justice for allegedly attempting to conceal Tan’s identity using a life-like disguise mask, which was found in their room by the authorities.
“This is the evidence we have obtained that it appears that, being a hairdresser, he is planning to disguise Kelly to avoid detection by the police and authorities who are chasing her,” Fajardo said.
Furthermore, in possession of Wu were numerous cellular phones, which the PNP turned over to the Anti-Cybercrime Group for further analysis and backtracking of call logs, message history, and possible transactions.
“There were also cellphones recovered from him and these were subjected to cyber warrants so we can obtain and see the contents of the cellphones because we believe that this Kelly is the one who knows about the ransom money being transferred using e-wallets until such time that these can be converted into crypto currencies,” Fajardo said.
The PNP had earlier named four other suspects in the case: David Tan Liao, Ricardo Austria, Reymart Catequista, and Jonin Lin.
Investigators confirmed Que personally knew Tan Liao, who is believed to be one of the masterminds behind the kidnapping.
Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo, were first reported missing on March 29. Their bodies were later discovered in Rodriguez, Rizal, on April 9.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “PNP working to recover ransom money in Que kidnap-slay.”