The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), in conjunction with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), has filed several counts of money laundering against fugitive “POGO Mayor” Alice Guo and 35 other individuals with the Department of Justice.
Guo’s sister Sheila Guo and POGO “point person” Cassandra Li Ong were among those named as co-conspirators, the AMLC said in a press release.
The group are all linked to illegal operators BAOFU Land Development Inc, Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc or Zun Yuan Technology Inc – the latter of which was raided by authorities earlier this year on suspicion of being involved in human trafficking and cryptocurrency scams. Alice Guo, the former mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, is accused of aiding the operations of Zun Yuan Technology Inc, although her current whereabouts are unknown with suggestions she may have fled the Philippines.
According to the AMLC, Guo and her co-conspirators are alleged to have been involved in a complex scheme of money laundering linked to the crimes of estafa, qualified trafficking in persons, and violations of the Securities Regulation Code. An AMLC investigation conducted together with NBI and PAOCC revealed that Guo and her co-conspirators generated proceeds of over Php101 million (US$1.8 million) between June 2020 and January 2024 from their criminal activities.
The funds, initially meant for BAOFU’s electricity bills, were systematically laundered through multiple bank accounts to conceal their illicit origins.
In addition to the money laundering charges, the AMLC said it is seeking the forfeiture of assets valued at over Php6 billion (US$107 million) accumulated by Guo and her associates through their unlawful activities. The forfeiture also includes other properties that were instrumental in facilitating these illegal operations.
These assets include numerous real properties in Tarlac, Pampanga, and Las Piñas City, commercial buildings within the BAOFU compound, multiple bank accounts with significant illicit funds, corporate assets linked to implicated companies, a fleet of luxury vehicles, and a helicopter used to facilitate criminal operations.
The filing of the money laundering complaint follows investigations by the AMLC that were preceded by the earlier freezing of the bank accounts and other assets of persons and entities behind the unlawful activities, and the filing of a forfeiture case over the BAOFU Compound. The money laundering case is a part of a series of cases to be filed by the AMLC, in coordination with partner agencies, to ensure that the Philippines shall not be used as a money laundering site for the proceeds of any unlawful activities, the AMLC explained.
“The AMLC remains committed in its mission to ensure that the financial system is not exploited to further criminal enterprises,” said AMLV director Atty. Matthew M. David.
“This filing is part of the AMLC’s pursuit to combat financial crimes and safeguard the integrity of the Philippine financial system.”
Shortly after news broke earlier this year of her alleged ties to illegal POGO operations, it was revealed that Alice Guo was not a local and was in fact a Chinese woman named Guo Hua Ping, after fingerprint comparisons found them to be one and the same. Her current whereabouts remains unknown.
Ong – who was also linked to an illegal POGO operation in Pampanga that was shut down earlier this year – and Sheila Guo were last week captured by authorities in Indonesia and deported back to the Philippines where they have since been grilled by a Senate Hearing on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations.
The hearing, which has continued despite President Ferdinand Marcos Jr having recently ordered the POGO industry be shut down, is ongoing.
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