Yan Zhenxing, who was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice issued by China, was arrested passing through the Batam Center International Port Immigration Checkpoint.
The arrest comes following a recent crackdown on illicit online gambling operations in Southeast Asian countries, which are often linked to criminal gangs. Director of immigration supervision and enforcement Yuldi Yusman said: “Based on the results of the investigation, [Yan] is the subject of a Red Notice at the request of the Beijing NCB for alleged involvement in a criminal gang.
“He is responsible for transferring and laundering money from a gang that operates an online gambling platform.”
The official outlined Yan had allegedly laundered money through data manipulation, resulting in profits of ¥130m (€16.9m).
Yan had previously been living in Singapore with his family before heading to Indonesia for a holiday. In a mysterious twist, Bloomberg reported the Singapore authorities had informed China that it had issued no request for assistance during Yan’s time in the city.
Without such a request, the police said they did not have the legal authority to pursue a fugitive wanted by a foreign jurisdiction.
They added Yan has not been linked to the multi-billion-dollar online gambling and scam money laundering operation that was busted in the summer of last year.
