A pair of Chinese scammers who served short sentences in the United States for conspiring to bribe Marshall Islands officials have been stranded for nearly a week in the terminal of Manila’s international airport after both Palau and the Philippines denied them entry because of their criminal backgrounds.
Cary Yan and Gina Zhou first made international headlines in 2022 when they were extradited to the U.S. to face charges of bribing Marshall Islands politicians to support a controversial plan to establish a special economic zone in Rongelap Atoll, a region rendered uninhabitable by U.S. nuclear testing in the 1950s.
While the autonomous zone received strong backing from many local figures, the government ultimately blocked it over concerns that it would undermine the U.S.-allied country’s security and provide a foothold for Chinese interests.
Yan and Zhou, who hold Marshall Islands passports, had been deported back to the Pacific nation in 2023 and 2024 after serving short sentences in the U.S.
On Friday, the two attempted to enter neighboring Palau but were denied entry, according to an official report from Palau’s National Security Coordination Office seen by OCCRP.
The couple told Palauan immigration officials that they had originally planned a brief stop in the country on their way to Taiwan so Yan could receive medical care. However, they later decided to stay longer to rest after Yan experienced chest pains on the flight, the report said.
Palauan authorities, however, immediately turned them away after discovering they had falsely declared that they did not have criminal records. Officials also found that, contrary to their claims, the couple had already booked several days of accommodation in Palau and had an onward flight scheduled for March 4 to Manila, rather than Taipei.
Palauan authorities deported them the same day to Manila, where Philippine officials also denied them entry. The couple has since been stuck at the airport terminal for five days.
In response to OCCRP’s inquiries, Zhou reiterated that they had intended to travel to Taiwan for medical care and claimed they had failed to declare their criminal records because “this was my first time traveling after returning from the U.S., and I didn’t fully understand the question.”
“Cary requires urgent medical assistance, and we hope to receive humanitarian aid,” Zhou said, adding that they did not want to return to the Marshall Islands due to inadequate medical care.
Alexander Piñano, the Philippines’ honorary consul in the Marshall Islands, confirmed to OCCRP that the pair remained inside the terminal of Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
“I understand that no one goes through life without making mistakes, and I acknowledge the errors I have made in the past,” Yan said in a written statement.
“Now, as my health continues to decline, my daily life has become increasingly difficult,” he added. “If given the opportunity for treatment, I am willing to fully cooperate. However, if circumstances remain unchanged, I can only accept my fate with resignation.”
A 2023 OCCRP investigation revealed that before their Marshall Islands scheme, the two had been involved in a global multi-level marketing scam selling water they falsely claimed could cure any disease.
Seeking to use the United Nations to market their product, the pair paid over a million dollars to U.N. diplomats to gain access to the organization and create their own fake U.N. agency. They then used the bogus agency, known as the World Organization of Governance and Competitiveness, to spearhead their special economic zone project and funnel bribes to Marshallese politicians.
Yan and Zhou’s failed attempt to visit Palau last week also dovetails with other OCCRP reporting on China-related activities in the region.
According to Palauan authorities, prior to flying to the country, the pair had booked accommodation at Shell Villa, a hotel owned by Tian “Hunter” Xing, a China-born businessman that OCCRP investigations have separately found to play a prominent role in efforts linked to China’s ruling Communist Party to build influence with Palauan elites.
Zhou told OCCRP that neither she nor Yan knew Tian and that they had not planned to conduct business in Palau.
Tian did not respond to questions.
