Police doubles reward to P10m for ‘co-mastermind’

Two casino junket operators received the ransom money paid by the family of slain Filipino-Chinese steel magnate Congyuan Guo, also known as Anson Tan or Anson Que, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.

“The ransom money paid from March 31 to April 8, 2025 went through two junket operators, which are 9 Dynasty Group and White Horse Club,” PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing yesterday.

Fajardo also announced the PNP doubled the reward to P10-million for information leading to the arrest of one of the suspects in the kidnap-slay case.

She said the reward is offered for the capture of alleged co-mastermind Wenli Gong, a Chinese national also known by the aliases Kelly Tan Lim, Bao Wenli, Axin, and Huang Yanling.

“The reward has been increased to P10 million for anyone who can provide information leading to the swift capture or arrest of alias Kelly,” she said.

The ransom money sent to the two casino junket operators, Fajardo said,  was then transferred to several other accounts, with some ending in crypto wallets.

The 9 Dynasty Group is led by Li Duang Wang, also known as Mark Ong, from Fujian, whose naturalization was vetoed last month by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., citing potential national security risks.

The 9 Dynasty Group transferred the ransom money to three accounts under the names Lin Tingyu, Deng Chengzhi, and Lin Ning, the PNP matrix showed.

Fajardo said Lin Tingyu and Deng Chengzhi then transferred parts of the monies they received to several crypto wallets, while Lin Ning made a transfer to an account identified only by its number.

Lin Ning was earlier linked to the case of Ni Qinhui, who was identified as one of the suspects arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation for espionage, she said.

“Sometime in June 2023, Lin Ning sent a large amount of money through an e-wallet to Ni Qinhui,” the PNP official said.

The ransom money sent to White Horse Club, on the other hand, were transferred to accounts under the names Luo Guohui and Nguyen Huy Dung, as well as to an account identified only by its number.

Based on the PNP matrix, Luo Guohui’s account appeared to have transferred monies through 9 Dynasty Group, which in turn sent monies back to Luo Guohui.

From Luo Guohui’s account, monies were sent to Yuan Fangquiang, one of two Chinese nationals arrested over the kidnap-slay case.

Yuan Fangquiang made a transfer to a certain “Bahari” on April 8, or a day before the bodies of Que and his driver, Armanie Pabillo, were found in Rodriguez, Rizal.

The victims were first reported missing on March 29.

“When (money) is put into a junket, when it is put into an e-wallet, the cryptocurrency, that money disappears,” PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said.

“Once you open your e-wallet, it’s no longer like a bank that requires you to identify the person. There is no ‘know-your-client.’ There is nothing like that. Anybody can open e-wallets and money can be transferred to you,” he added.

Police have so far named a total of five suspects in the killing of Que —David Tan Liao, Richardo Austria, and Reymart Catequista who are already in custody, and Jonin Lin and Kelly who are still at large.

Liao and Kelly were the alleged masterminds, Fajardo said, while Austria, Catequista, and Lin were accomplices.