According to a report by Southern Weekend, a cross-border kidnapping case involving a Chinese private equity fund manager has recently come to light. Tang Qi, the founder of a private equity fund in Beijing, and two partners went to the Philippines to discuss investments but were kidnapped by a gang demanding a ransom of 13 million yuan. The case is still under trial.
Tang Qi recalled that in the first half of 2023, he and his partners were invited to the Philippines by a local Chinese businessman who wanted to invest several hundred million yuan. The three first met with executives in Singapore and were then invited to Manila to meet the "big boss." Due to visa reasons, Tang Qi departed two days later than his companions, only to discover that they had lost contact. Subsequently, their families received ransom messages from the kidnappers, threatening to kill the hostages if the ransom was not paid. Tang later learned that the two had been detained for a week, threatened, beaten, and even photographed in a miserable state. The police warned that the worst fear in such cases is paying the ransom and still being killed.
Tang Qi initially thought it was an isolated case, but in 2024 discovered that another private equity founder, Zheng Kai, also narrowly escaped a similar trap by the same gang. The gang impersonated the Xie brothers from Kyoto Nin Jiom of Hong Kong, inviting Zheng Kai to Hong Kong or Southeast Asia for investment purposes, even suggesting a cruise vacation. Zheng Kai, being cautious, did not proceed, and only realized the scam after seeing a public notice from Kyoto Nin Jiom. In April 2025, he posted a warning on his public account and created a WeChat group that has gathered more than a dozen victimized fund managers, with amounts scammed ranging from tens of thousands to over a million yuan. He believes there are more actual victims, who remain silent due to concerns about reputation.
In fact, such cases are not isolated. In June 2024, two Chinese pharmaceutical executives went to the Philippines for an inspection and were kidnapped. Despite their families paying a huge ransom, they were still tragically killed. This case triggered a joint investigation by Chinese, American, and Philippine police, with the main suspect Chen Yuxuan arrested in South Korea in September. That same year, Chinese actor Wang Xing went to Thailand for a supposed film collaboration and also fell into a scam, eventually being rescued with the help of the Chinese embassy.
These cases show that criminal gangs often use investment, business, or entertainment opportunities as bait to lure victims abroad and then carry out extortion. Their methods are transnational and professional, posing a serious threat to the personal and property safety of individuals traveling abroad.
