$1.36M of Que ransom cashed out via Cambodia-based pay service

RECOVERED BY THE ROADSIDE A barangay employee points to the site in Sitio Odiongan, Barangay Macabud, Rodriguez, Rizal, where the bodies of Chinese-Filipino businessman Anson Que and his driver Armanie Pabillo were found on Wednesday. They were placed inside nylon bags. The two men were last seen on March 29 after leaving their office in Valenzuela City. —LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — Over US$1.36 million of the suspected ransom paid in the kidnap-slay case of Filipino-Chinese businessman Anson Que was cashed out through a Cambodia-based pay service, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.

The PNP previously said authorities traced the ransom money to the electronic wallets of casino junket operators White Horse Club and 9 Dynasty Group.

“The bulk of the money, it appears, has been cashed out using a USDT account in Huione Pay, which is based in Cambodia,” Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo, PNP spokesperson, said in Filipino during a press conference at Camp Crame on Saturday.

USDT is a form of cryptocurrency.

“What’s significant here na itong Huione Pay ay naimbestigahan ito ng US government for alleged money laundering,” Fajardo added.

(What’s significant here is that this Huione Pay was investigated by the US government for alleged money laundering.)

According to a Reuters report, the United States Treasury found that the Huione Group allegedly laundered at least US$4 billion between August 2021 and January 2025.

READ: PNP: Que ransom tracked on e-wallets of 2 casino junket operators

Cryptocurrency frozen

Fajardo added that around US$205,942 in cryptocurrency so far had already been frozen by the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG).

“This was frozen by the ACG because they communicated with the cryptocurrency outside of our jurisdiction,” Fajardo explained in Filipino.

The PNP spokesperson added that the police force was still accounting for the total ransom.

“Some money entered as pesos. Then, some were converted to US dollars. And then, some were converted again to USDT. So, there are differences,” Fajardo said.

READ: PNP: P10 million reward up for info on suspect in Que slay case

Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo, were last seen alive at his office in Valenzuela City on March 29, killed in a house in Bulacan on April 8 and recovered in a grassy area along a road in Rizal on April 9.

Filipino suspects Richardo Austria and Raymart Catequista were arrested by the PNP in Palawan on April 18, while Chinese suspect David Tan Liao surrendered to the Anti-Kidnapping Group on April 19.

Meanwhile, a P10-million reward was being offered by police for information leading to the arrest of another Chinese suspect, Wenli Gong (also known as Kelly Tan Lim), the woman who allegedly lured Que and Pabillo into the residence where they would be held. /jpv