Filipino immigration officer sentenced to 18 years in prison for falsifying immigration records

On October 19, a Philippine Immigration Bureau (BI) immigration officer was convicted of falsifying travel records. The records show that former Wirecard COO Jan Marsalek traveled to the Philippines in 2020, although he never arrived or left the country that year.

The Pasai District Trial Court found immigration officer Marcos S. Nicodemus in violation of Republic Act No. 10175, the Prevention of Cybercrime Act of 2012, and Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Corruption Act. Nicodemus was sentenced by the court to up to nine years in prison for each criminal case and permanently disqualified from holding public office, the ruling said.

The Austrian citizen was Marsalek wanted by the German government for involvement in a $2.2 billion Wirecard scam, the National Bureau of Research said.

Since Wirecard had related business in the Philippines, the Philippine government joined the hunt for Marsalek in 2020 and discovered travel records showing he came to the Philippines in 2020.

The Minister of Justice at the time, Menado Guevara (Menardo Guevarra), ordered the IND to investigate the situation fully.

In August 2020, the IND recommended that the Ministry of Justice prosecute Marcos Nicodemus, an immigration officer, for falsifying the travel records of Austrian citizens.

According to Marsalek travel records, he arrived in the Philippines on June 23, 2020 via Terminal 1 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport and was handled by immigration officer Darren Ilagan, but the system came with a note "canceled by user. The Marsalek then departed from Mactan-Cebu International Airport on 24 June 2020, when it was processed by Perry Michael Pancho.

However, the National Bureau of Disposition's access to airport surveillance did not find the man's entry and exit and therefore determined that the entry and exit records were forged, especially since the authorities imposed stricter entry and exit controls on foreign citizens during the new crown epidemic.

Ilagan subsequently testified that his superiors Nicodemus ordered him to conduct a background check on the Marsalek, despite the fact that he was no longer on duty that day and that Marsalek was not present during the check.

Back in 2020, Guevara, then justice minister, said his travel records could have been falsified due to "diversionary tactics used to mislead his pursuers".