Philippines says China-centric Pogos ‘deeply’ linked to global crime rings

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the online casino industry could also be tied to spying, money-laundering and election interference

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Chinese workers outside a Pogo office in Paranaque City, Philippines. Photo: Martin San Diego

Published: 3:23pm, 20 Sep 2024

China-focused online casinos that boomed in the Philippines during Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency may have “deep links” to international crime syndicates, a lawmaker leading the probe on the industry said on Friday.

The Senate inquiry on so-called Philippine offshore gaming operators has established ties between these gambling operations and foreign criminal groups, Senator Risa Hontiveros told foreign correspondents. “We have seen numerous and deep links to transnational crime syndicates,” she said.

She noted how two people of Chinese origins convicted in Singapore’s S$3 billion (US$2.3 billion) money-laundering case were identified in the Senate’s investigation for possible involvement in Philippine gambling operations. The online casinos could also be linked to spying, and money from the industry could have been used in Philippine local elections, she added.

The investigation into the industry has gripped the Southeast Asian nation, most notably the case of dismissed mayor Alice Guo who fled to Malaysia, Singapore and was later arrested in Indonesia. The probe has raised questions about Guo’s citizenship, with her fingerprints supposedly matching that of a Chinese national.

Philippine authorities have filed money-laundering and human trafficking complaints against Guo and her associates over their alleged connection with an illegal offshore gambling operation.

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Guo has denied wrongdoing and involvement in Pogo operations. She said she had divested her stake in 2021 in Baofu Land Development Inc., which she incorporated in 2019 together with Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, the two who were convicted in Singapore’s largest money-laundering case. Baofu allegedly owns the property and buildings where illegal activities were committed, according to the Senate inquiry.