The Philippine National Police said it was able to trace and freeze part of the ransom money paid by the family of Chinese businessman Anson Que.
PNP spokesperson Police Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said that USD$205,942 or around P11.40 million was found in cryptocurrency outside Philippine jurisdiction.
The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) was able to freeze the ransom.
“Nakapag-communicate po sila doon sa mga cryptocurrency outside of our jurisdiction, so naka-connect po ang ACG at they were able to request for the reservation at na ipa-freeze na po ito,” said Fajardo.
Despite this, she noted that a bulk of the money, totalling up to USD$1,365,113 or around P75.58 Million, had already been withdrawn using a USDT account based in Cambodia.
She also shared that the account used to withdraw had previously been investigated by the authorities of the United States of America for suspected money laundering.
Meanwhile, Fajardo said that the PNP is still working to figure out the total amount of ransom that had been paid for the release of Anson Que and his driver before the killings.
While the family declared that they paid P200 million, the PNP spokesperson said that they wanted to compare this amount with the
money
they have collected and recorded from junkets and e-wallets.
“May mga iba-iba po nga reports po, at ongoing pa rin po sir yung ating investigation to determine talaga ilang amount po talaga… Kasi ang nangyayari po is mayroon pong pumasok na peso, and then may-convert po ng US dollars at na-convert ulit yan sa USDT. So, nagkakaroon po ng difference pagdating po sa peso, sa US dollar at saka sa USDT,” she said.
(There are different reports, and the investigation is still ongoing to determine how much the amount really is… Because what happened was that a peso amount had already come in, then some were converted into US dollars and converted again to USDT. So, there’s a difference when it comes to the peso, US dollar, and USDT.)
“Lahat po yan kailangan po nating ibangga lahat po ng mga statements po ng family doon naman sa mga pumasok na pera doon sa mga e-wallets po. Kaya ngayon po, ang Pilipinas po ay nakikipag-ugnayan po sa ating mga foreign counterparts because it would indicate, based po dito sa ating financial investigation na ginagawa, na may mga konektado po na mga USDT issuer na outside of the authority or jurisdiction po ng Philippine government… Hindi lamang po dito sa mga kaso ni Anson Tan and we will backtrack po itong mga previous kidnapping case kung saan USDT din po ang naging conversion po ng mga ransom money na ibinigay,” she added.
(We need to match all of these with statements of the family regarding the money being received through e-wallets. That is why the Philippines is currently coordinating with our foreign counterparts because it would indicate, based on the financial investigation we are conducting, that there are USDT issuers connected outside the authority or jurisdiction of the Philippine government… It’s not just here in the case of Anson Tan, and we will backtrack to previous kidnapping cases where USDT was also used as the conversion of the ransom money.)
Earlier, House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairperson Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte claimed that the alleged money laundering of Que’s ransom through junkets, cryptocurrency, and e-wallets was a national security threat.
“This is no longer just about ransom—it’s about a vast shadow economy of crime that’s infiltrating and abusing our financial system… What we’re dealing with is a deeply entrenched network of foreign syndicates using the Philippines as a safe haven for financial crimes,” said Barbers.
“These are not isolated incidents. Junkets and POGOs have become channels for money laundering, kidnapping, and possibly even espionage. It’s a toxic mix that’s endangering the safety of our people and the integrity of our financial and national security systems,” he added.
The bodies of Chinese businessman Anson Que and his driver were
found
inside bags and duct-taped at a roadside in Rodriguez, Rizal last April 10.
They were last seen alive on March 29 while on the way to Valenzuela for a meeting, and were reported missing to the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) on April 30.
—LDF, GMA Integrated News
This article
PNP: US$1.36M of Anson Que ransom withdrawn by foreign account
was originally published in
GMA News Online
.