AMLC mum on POGO – Gordon
Published Mar 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Hannah Torregoza
Senator Richard Gordon said on Tuesday said he has observed that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is silent over the issues hounding the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) despite the numerous controversy that sprung up in the course of the Senate’s various investigations into the industry.
Sen. Richard Gordon
(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Gordon admitted this when Senator Joel Villanueva inquired during Tuesday’s Senate plenary session on whether the AMLC has some information about any covered suspicious transactions involving Chinese-owned POGOs and POGO service providers. Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor and employment committee, noted there are about 59 POGOs operating in the country, but only 11 of these are Philippine-based. Forty-eight of these companies are operating offshore, and apart from these are about 229 service providers that are also in operation. “Do we have some sort of information from AMLC regarding this particular issue?” Villanueva asked. “Actually, Mr. President, I don’t want to insult the AMLC, but their silence is defeaning,” Gordon responded. “I would have imagined them to be more aggressive in telling us that this is a problem we can do something about,” Gordon pointed out. Gordon has vowed to launch a separate probe into the POGO industry, this time on the alarming amount of cash that dozens of Chinese citizens are bringing to the country, as Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair. He said the legislative inquiry will look into the AMLC’s supposed failure to prevent foreigners from cleaning dirty money through the country’s financial system. According to Gordon, these Chinese nationals are able to individually carry as much as $5 million “in cold cash” to the country’s borders without any government official stopping them. This prompted Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri to ask, “Mr. President, are we allowed to bring in ‘male-maletang’ pera sa bansa (a luggage full of money in the country)? Because if you go to other countries, you have a maleta (luggage) let’s say $1 million, when you go to the US, even if you declare it, they will hold you because that could be drug money.” “You have to show proof of your income… if you are Bill Gates, or the other known billionaires, pwede po yun (that can be allowed). But if you are just an ordinary citizen bringing $1 million into the US, unless you show proof of income, di talaga sila papayag dun, ire-red flag ka talaga nila (they will not allow you entry, they will really flag you down). I’m sure they will detain you. You do that in Europe, they will also detain you, because they will know that it’s either racketeering money or that you got this money through laundering,” Zubiri pointed out. “Wala bang protocol ang ating Bureau of Customs (BoC) pagdating sa atin, pag nakakakita silang ng ganung karaming pera na dala-dala ng isang tao? (Does our BOC have any protocol whenever they see a person bringing in that huge amount of money within our ports?)” Zubiri asked. Gordon vowed that such concerns will be brought up in the scheduled Senate hearing on Thursday, March 5. According to Gordon, the BOC has admitted that a total US$447.07 million or P22.69 billion “dirty” cash were brought into the country by 47 individuals from September, 2019 to February, 2020. He said the dirty money brought into the country by the Chinese and some Filipinos came from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok, Thailand. Gordon said the money were either declared as foreign exchange investment, travel, and casino, and for business purposes.
Sen. Richard Gordon(Senate of the Philippines / MANILA BULLETIN) Gordon admitted this when Senator Joel Villanueva inquired during Tuesday’s Senate plenary session on whether the AMLC has some information about any covered suspicious transactions involving Chinese-owned POGOs and POGO service providers. Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor and employment committee, noted there are about 59 POGOs operating in the country, but only 11 of these are Philippine-based. Forty-eight of these companies are operating offshore, and apart from these are about 229 service providers that are also in operation. “Do we have some sort of information from AMLC regarding this particular issue?” Villanueva asked. “Actually, Mr. President, I don’t want to insult the AMLC, but their silence is defeaning,” Gordon responded. “I would have imagined them to be more aggressive in telling us that this is a problem we can do something about,” Gordon pointed out. Gordon has vowed to launch a separate probe into the POGO industry, this time on the alarming amount of cash that dozens of Chinese citizens are bringing to the country, as Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair. He said the legislative inquiry will look into the AMLC’s supposed failure to prevent foreigners from cleaning dirty money through the country’s financial system. According to Gordon, these Chinese nationals are able to individually carry as much as $5 million “in cold cash” to the country’s borders without any government official stopping them. This prompted Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri to ask, “Mr. President, are we allowed to bring in ‘male-maletang’ pera sa bansa (a luggage full of money in the country)? Because if you go to other countries, you have a maleta (luggage) let’s say $1 million, when you go to the US, even if you declare it, they will hold you because that could be drug money.” “You have to show proof of your income… if you are Bill Gates, or the other known billionaires, pwede po yun (that can be allowed). But if you are just an ordinary citizen bringing $1 million into the US, unless you show proof of income, di talaga sila papayag dun, ire-red flag ka talaga nila (they will not allow you entry, they will really flag you down). I’m sure they will detain you. You do that in Europe, they will also detain you, because they will know that it’s either racketeering money or that you got this money through laundering,” Zubiri pointed out. “Wala bang protocol ang ating Bureau of Customs (BoC) pagdating sa atin, pag nakakakita silang ng ganung karaming pera na dala-dala ng isang tao? (Does our BOC have any protocol whenever they see a person bringing in that huge amount of money within our ports?)” Zubiri asked. Gordon vowed that such concerns will be brought up in the scheduled Senate hearing on Thursday, March 5. According to Gordon, the BOC has admitted that a total US$447.07 million or P22.69 billion “dirty” cash were brought into the country by 47 individuals from September, 2019 to February, 2020. He said the dirty money brought into the country by the Chinese and some Filipinos came from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok, Thailand. Gordon said the money were either declared as foreign exchange investment, travel, and casino, and for business purposes.