Latest news with #AliceGuo
The Star
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Philippines' dismissed mayor Alice Guo charged with 62 counts of money laundering
Alice Guo. - Photo: House of Representatives file MANILA: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed 62 counts of money laundering cases against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. Guo, who is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail, is charged with 26 counts of violating Section 4(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) for conducting transactions involving monetary instruments or property derived from unlawful activity. She also faces five counts of violation of Section 4(b) of the same law for converting, transferring, acquiring, or using such instruments or property. Alice, together with her parents Jian Zhong Guo and Lin Wenyi and siblings Shiela and Seimen, and 26 others who are officials of companies involved in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) operations, are facing a case for violating section 4 (d) of the same law for conspiring to commit money laundering offenses. Based on the 48-page resolution issued by the DOJ panel of prosecutors early this year, the proceeds from the Pogo activities inside Baofu compound owned by Guo's real estate company were transferred to other legitimate businesses of the Guo family. Baofu had been the subject of three search warrants due to illegal activities being conducted by Hongsheng, a Pogo operator, such as online gambling, internet fraud, and other cybercrime operations. Following a raid conducted in 2023, authorities arrested over 300 foreign nationals, mostly Chinese citizens. Another raid was conducted on March 13, 2024, against Zun Yuan, which took over Baofu operations after Hongsheng due to its alleged involvement in labour trafficking, cryptocurrency scams, love scams, and investment fraud. Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon confirmed that the case filed on Friday (May 23) before the Capas court was from the resolution released last January. 'Because the number of information (charge sheets) that had to be prepared and its attachments, it took a while to file,' he said. The money laundering case marks the eighth case filed against Guo, who is already facing charges of qualified trafficking in persons, civil forfeiture, graft, material misrepresentation, and falsification of public documents. Four additional cases are under preliminary investigation by the DOJ, covering alleged falsification by a notary public, perjury, and obstruction of justice, violations of the Anti-Dummy Law involving Pangasinan properties (two cases), qualified trafficking, and graft involving personnel of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
GMA Network
16-05-2025
- GMA Network
10 Chinese nabbed in small-scale scam hub in Bataan
Ten Chinese nationals were arrested in Bataan for allegedly operating a small-scale scam hub in residential houses, according to a report by John Consulta on "24 Oras." Agents from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided at least three houses suspected of being used in online scamming activities. Inside, they found computers, electronic gadgets, and a satellite internet system believed to have been used to avoid detection by bypassing local internet providers. During the operation, the first Chinese national encountered by authorities had his phone confiscated on the spot. Several others were found hiding inside cabinets and closets as agents swept through the premises. According to NBI Intelligence Division Assistant Director Noel Bocaling, the suspects were former members of a larger Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) group. After the government dismantled a major POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga — the same one linked to controversial figure Alice Guo — some individuals fled and established smaller independent groups to continue their operations. 'Yung kaso ni Alice Guo at sa Porac na na-dismantle ng PAOCC, nung dinismantle nila yan, marami ang nakatakas. Nung tumakas, di na sila nag-amo, sila-sila ang nagcreate ng grupo-grupo nila. Yung mga cellphones na gamit nila doon nakatakip ang mga camera para di makita ng mga kausap nila,' Bocaling said. (When the PAOCC dismantled that site in Bamban in Alice Guo's case and in Porac, many escaped. After fleeing, they stopped working under a single boss and instead formed their own smaller networks. They even covered their phone cameras so their contacts wouldn't see them.) Authorities were tipped off after it was discovered that one of the houses rented by the group was owned by the child of a former NBI agent. A Chinese informant — who strongly opposes illegal cyber activities — also helped in gathering intelligence. 'Nagkamali sila dahil yung mayari ng inuupahan nila yung anak dating NBI agent. Ang asset natin diyan Chinese din na ayaw na ayaw na ganyan,' he added. (They made a mistake in choosing that house. Our asset in the area is also Chinese and refuses to tolerate scams like these.) The 10 arrested individuals face charges under the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act and are currently under NBI custody. The investigation is ongoing to trace other possible scam hubs operating in the area. —Sherylin Untalan/LDF, GMA Integrated News
South China Morning Post
06-03-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
How did Alice Guo flee the Philippines? Officials' contradictions fuel cover-up suspicions
Philippine officials are struggling to explain how former mayor Alice Guo , who is under investigation for her alleged ties to crime-linked offshore gaming operations, was able to flee the country last year, with new theories about her exit route contradicting verified records, sparking accusations of a cover-up. Advertisement Guo was found to have escaped the Philippines in July after a warrant for her arrest was issued, travelling first to Malaysia and then to Indonesia, where local authorities caught her before extraditing her to Manila, where she remains in detention. Since then, many have questioned how Guo, who was already under intense scrutiny by authorities and the media due to accusations that she was a Chinese spy faking her Filipino identity , was able to leave the country undetected. Ferlu Silvio, director of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) theorised at a Senate justice and human rights subcommittee hearing on Tuesday that Guo and her companions may have taken a 'back door' route out of the country – a boat from Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines' southernmost province, to Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Malaysia's Sabah, about 430km away. A trip from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah can take three hours by high-speed ferry. 02:17 Philippine officials in hot water over selfies with fugitive mayor Alice Guo Philippine officials in hot water over selfies with fugitive mayor Alice Guo The agency said that Guo and her companions may have made their way from the Sabah capital to Kuala Lumpur, flying to Singapore and travelling to the island of Batam in Indonesia.
