BI commish warns undesirable aliens

BUREAU of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente yesterday warned wanted foreigners who are hiding in the country that they will not find a haven here.

“We will never allow our country to be a refuge of these undesirable aliens,” Morente said following the arrest of a 61-year-old Czech national wanted for fraud and money laundering in his country was arrested by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) recently in Cebu City.

Godus Dusan was apprehended at his house in Bgy. Atabay, Alcoy, Cebu by operatives of the BI fugitive search unit (FSU) last August 6.

Morente said the foreigner has been hiding in the Philippines for more than a year since he fled his country to avoid criminal prosecution.

Officials of the Czech embassy in Manila sought the BI’s help in capturing him after they learned that he and his fiancée have been living in the said city.

He noted that prior to the arrest, Dusan was already issued a summary deportation order by the BI board of commissioners and his name was placed in the immigration blacklist.

FSU head Jose Carlitos Licas said Dusan was accused of enriching himself by embezzling 9.8 million Czech Korunas, or more than US$400,000, which he collected as advance payment for the construction of a building on the latter’s real property.

“It turned out, however, that the company where he (Dusan) worked was not licensed to engage in building construction and that he managed to withdraw the money from the victim’s bank account by forging the latter’s signature,” he added.

It was also learned that for absconding with the victim’s money upon fleeing the Czech Republic, Dusan was also charged with money laundering for which he could be penalized with a jail term of up to six years.