Spanish fugitive deported to European Union country: NIA

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) A Spanish fugitive wanted in a multi-million euro fraud case has been deported to an undisclosed country in the European Union, the National Immigration Agency (NIA) said Sunday, ending a 10-day legal saga that began with an Italian news report alleging he was living in Taipei.

The suspect, Salvador Alejandro Llinas Onate, left a holding area at Taoyuan International Airport at 9:35 p.m. Sunday, and after completing deportation procedures was accompanied by NIA officials to his departing flight, the agency said in a statement.

Llinas Onate was initially deported to Singapore on Saturday night, only to be denied entry by that country on the grounds that he is wanted by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).

He was then flown back to Taiwan early Sunday. Since he had been deported, however, he was not allowed to reenter Taiwan, and had to be held in an NIA holding area at the airport while the government scrambled to resolve the case.

In its statement, the NIA said that "following consultations with EU legal authorities, it was decided that Llinas Onate should be deported as quickly as possible to a European Union member state."

The country where Llinas Onate arrived will then make a decision as to whether to send him on to Spain to face legal proceedings, the agency said.

Taiwan does not have direct flights to Spain.

According to a Taipei immigration officer, Llinas Onate, who ran a rental car company in Trento, northern Italy, is accused of illegally selling around 1,180 vehicles that did not belong to him to third parties in 2019 before fleeing from Italy to Taiwan.

Foreign media reports have said that Llinas Onate rented cars without paying any rent and then sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

Through the scheme, the 48-year-old raked in about 30 million euros (US$32.77 million) in profit, according to international news media. His car rental firm declared bankruptcy in 2019, and he vanished not long afterwards.

He is wanted by both Spanish and Italian judicial authorities over the matter, the NIA has said.

Taiwan's news media reported Llinas Onate obtained permanent residency in Taiwan in 2021 after entering the country via a dependent visa, and has run five companies in Taiwan, including two high-end restaurants in a prime district in Taipei.

The NIA has not released further information about the case or explained whether they were aware Llinas Onate was wanted by Interpol when they granted him permanent residency.

Taiwan is not a member of Interpol, widely believed to be due to opposition from Beijing, which objects to its inclusion in international organizations whose members are normally countries.

Timeline

Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported on Oct. 10 that Llinas Onate was believed to be in Taipei. In the wake of the report, the NIA said on Oct. 14 that it had ordered the fugitive to leave the country within 10 days.

The NIA explained that the 10-day grace period, which would have expired on Oct. 23, was given because Llinas Onate lived in Taiwan with his family, including two young children.

Subsequent court filings, however, showed that Llinas Onate was ordered to leave Taiwan by Saturday, Oct. 19.

According to a United Daily News report, Llinas Onate was informed by the NIA on Oct. 17 that it would hold a deportation hearing for him at 10 a.m. the next day.

With the help of his lawyers, Llinas Onate appealed the scheduling of the hearing, arguing that he had not been given sufficient time to prepare.

As a result, the UDN report said, Llinas Onate's appeal was heard at the Taipei High Administrative Court at 11 a.m. Friday, at more or less the same time as the NIA hearing where his deportation was approved.

At 8 p.m. Friday, immigration officers took Llinas Onate into custody and brought him to the airport, where he departed on a flight to Singapore just after midnight, in the early hours of Saturday, UDN reported.

On Saturday, the Taipei High Administrative Court issued a preliminary ruling finding flaws in the directive the NIA issued deporting Llinas Onate and ordering that he be released as the case proceeded.

By that time, however, Llinas Onate had already been deported, and as such, was not allowed entry to Taiwan after being sent back from Singapore early Sunday.

In a follow-up ruling on Sunday, the administrative court rejected Llinas Onate's appeal, saying that in the absence of any immediate danger to him, it was not feasible to issue a provisional injunction in the case, now that his residence permit had been revoked and he had already been deported.

The ruling can be appealed.