Alleged Japanese scammer arrested in Makati

A Japanese man wanted for his alleged involvement in telecommunications fraud was arrested in Makati City on Feb. 7, 2025, according to the Bureau of Immigration.

MANILA, Philippines — A Japanese man wanted by Tokyo authorities for his alleged involvement in telecommunications fraud was arrested in Makati City on February 7, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

The agency identified the 48-year-old suspect as Eiji Shigematsu. He was collared by BI fugitive search unit personnel along Ayala Avenue in Bel Air Village.

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BI said Shigematsu was apprehended pursuant to a mission order issued by Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado upon receiving information about the suspect’s presence in the country.

“We will deport him and he will be blacklisted and banned from reentering the country,” said Viado said in a statement on Sunday.

The agency also said Shigematsu was ordered arrested by the Kajiki summary court in Japan in July 2024 for his involvement in phishing.

“Shigematsu and his accomplices were accused of running voice phishing operations that victimized many of their compatriots. The suspects allegedly perpetrated the scheme by impersonating police officers in order to exact money from victims,” the BI said.

The suspect, who arrived in the country in October 2019, is now at the BI warden facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending deportation proceedings.