A Senate investigation is being called for over the failure of local banks to detect and report suspicious transactions linked to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which have been associated with criminal activities in the country.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution No. 1193, which included the case of former Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, also known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping. In presenting this case, Gatchalian pointed to financial transactions involving the companies of Guo wherein “hundreds of millions of pesos” allegedly developed a POGO hub in Bamban.
Senator pointed out that between 2020 and 2021, there was a huge influx of cash flow, check disbursements, and other transactions connected to Guo’s accounts-this is unusual because most countries have experienced an economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gatchalian said these institutions must watch for suspicious activities, such as possible money laundering, through the data monitored and analyzed.
He even noted that it is still in the list of FATF’s grey list and if listed, its listing would make it more important for the country to bring into further development efforts under AML/CTF which includes prosecution-related activities on money laundering, improving the information for beneficial ownership, and also strengthening measures for cross-border declarations.
Pres. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, in a directive, called on government agencies to finalize the remaining reforms necessary before it could be removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list. Gatchalian struck a chord that private sectors play a role in remaining compliant with AML/CFT requirements, which would further strengthen country efforts in ridding financial crimes and smarter filing of covered/suspicious transaction reports.
