German in investment scam faces deportation

MANILA, Philippines - A German man accused of defrauding 300,000 euros in an investment scam in his country will soon be deported, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.

Joachim Leipski, 56, was arrested by the BI’s Fugitive Search Unit in Dauin, Negros Oriental last Aug. 7, BI officer-in-charge Siegfred Mison said.

Mison ordered Leipski’s arrest pursuant to deportation order that was issued against him by the BI board of commissioners last June 28 for being an undesirable and undocumented alien. Leipski’s passport was revoked in July 2012 after a court in Berlin, where he was charged with multiple counts of fraud, issued two arrest warrants against him, the BI said.

The German was banned from returning to the Philippines as a result of his inclusion in the immigration blacklist.

Jose Carlitos Licas, BI acting intelligence chief, said Leipski, from January to August 2008, allegedly enticed his victims to invest in his company, which was engaged by a gallery owner to sell art works and paintings in exchange for a commission.

“However, in order to induce his victims to invest their money, he overstated the price of the art works and the amount of commissions to be earned,” Licas said.

The victims reportedly lost all their investments as Leipski left Germany with their money. 

Licas said the fugitive is believed to have traveled to other countries before he arrived in Manila on Aug. 31, 2010.