Philippines authorities today charged disgraced former mayor Alice Guo with 62 counts of money laundering. She was charged along with 31 others in connection with a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) in Bamban, Tarlac Province.
Guo apparently was part owner of the Bamban POGO. A raid of the facility last March turned up evidence of an online call centre running romance and investment scams. It was staffed by workers who said they were held against their will and threatened with torture.
Guo is also said to be a Chinese national, Guo Hua Ping. She reportedly used false birth records to run for mayor in the rural community and was elected in 2022. She was removed from office following the raid.
In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr outlawed the offshore gaming industry and Guo went into hiding. Law enforcement tracked her movements from Malaysia to Singapore and, finally, Indonesia.
Arrested in Jakarta last September, Guo has been detained ever since. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
Investigation expands to Singapore
Singapore police are cooperating with Philippines authorities to track down Guo’s coconspirators. According to Malaysian news outlet The Star, her purported cronies including Zhang Jie, who reportedly ran illegal igaming operations in both Singapore and the Philippines. She has also been linked to Wu Duanren, known as the “boss” of a POGO in Porac, Pampanga. Lawmakers say the two helped Guo make her getaway last July.
In a statement issued on 7 January, Singapore police said: “We do not tolerate anyone who may have committed crimes overseas and will take firm action against them if we have sufficient grounds.”
Guo is also said to have worked with a couple convicted in Singapore’s notorious multibillion-dollar money laundering case. Chinese nationals Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying pleaded guilty to money laundering and forgery charges. After spending 15 months in prison, they were deported to Cambodia.
POGOs still operating
Despite Marcos’ unqualified ban on the POGO industry, on 8 January Philippine police raided yet another illegal compound, this one in Parañaque City in the capitol region. They arrested 400 foreign workers in the sting.
The government-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reports that all the workers are in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Guo and her co-defendants also face charges of qualified human trafficking, according to the PNA. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) also alleges that “an intricate network of criminal activities linking POGOs to drug syndicates and corporate fraud”.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/gaming/online-casino/philippines-guo-charged-with-money-laundering-another-pogo-shut-down/
