Philippine president says key suspect in corruption scandal has been arrested in Prague

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MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday night that a key suspect in a corruption scandal that has sparked public outrage in the Philippines has been arrested in the Czech Republic and that efforts were underway to repatriate the former lawmaker.

Zaldy Co, who resigned from the House of Representatives in September after being implicated in financial anomalies involving flood control projects, was detained by authorities in Prague after crossing into the Central European country without proper documentation, Marcos said without elaborating.

“We are in close coordination with the Czech government to ensure that all legal processes are followed and to arrange for his return to the Philippines at the soonest possible time,” Marcos said in a statement.

The Philippines has no extradition treaty with the Czech Republic and Marcos did not say how his government would seek the custody of Co. Philippine officials have cancelled Co’s passport and sought Interpol’s help to locate and arrest the wealthy former legislator.

Co is one of several powerful legislators, including former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Senate President Francis Escudero, who were accused of pocketing huge kickbacks from flood control projects in an Asian archipelago prone to deadly floodings and typhoons.

Co, Romualdez, Escudero and other legislators have denied any wrongdoing but have come under investigation. Several former government engineers and public works officials, wealthy construction company executives and a former senator have been detained while facing trial on corruption charges.

At least 9,855 flood control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since Marcos took office in mid-2022 came under scrutiny. Many were found to be substandard, overpriced or were not built at all.

In September, then Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told a congressional hearing that up to 118.5 billion pesos (nearly $2 billion) intended for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption since 2023.

The scale of the anomalies and news reports that showed the lavish lifestyles and fleets of expensive European cars of some of the suspects sparked huge anti-corruption protests last year in a country where millions still live in appalling poverty.