MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) has approved the filing of 62 counts of money laundering case against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo.
Aside from Guo, facing 31 counts of money laundering cases are her parents, siblings and 26 others.
Specifically, the former mayor is facing 26 counts of money laundering under Section 4(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act for transacting using proceeds of illegal activities.
She is also facing five counts of Section 4(b) of the said law for converting, transferring, and disposing of proceeds of illegal activities.
READ: Alice Guo faces misrepresentation raps filed by Comelec
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, the proceeds from the Pogo activities inside Baofu compound owned by Guo’s real estate company are 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 labor trafficking, cryptocurrency scams, love scams, and investment fraud.
“Noteworthy, there were no financial documents indicating specific remittance or receipt of money or other monetary instruments by either Baofu, Hongsheng, or Zun Yuan arising from the unlawful investment or love scamming activities conducted inside Baofu compound,” the resolution said.
But the panel of prosecutors said, “This does not defeat or negate the fact that respondents actually derived proceeds from their unlawful activities. Obviously, the respondents are too keen and crafty as to leave any trail or evidence of dirty money that would easily give them away.”
“It is interesting to note, however, that this case involves several corporations that tried to conceal the true nature of their businesses and sow public perception of conducting legitimate activities. With the machinations of the respondents, chiefly by Alice Leal Guo, layers of corporations were incorporated one after another to make it appear that these were engaged in independent, profitable, and legitimate businesses,” the DOJ said.
The panel of prosecutors said that while there are no specific financial documents showing the proceeds from the illegal activities inside Baof, “it is very apparent that proceeds from unlawful activity were diverted and channeled through Guo’s other businesses, such as QJJ Farm and QSeed Genetics.”
“In this case, Alice, through QJJ Farm and QSeed Genetics as transit accounts, paid for the electric bills and other operating expenses of Baofu, Hongsheng, and Zun Yuan,” the resolution read.
The same resolution, however, dismissed the money laundering case against Katherine Cassandra Li Ong for lack of evidence.