Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Wednesday, January 8, that they are working on a separate resolution that seeks to investigate the apparent failure of banks and other financial institutions to flag suspicious transactions of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
"Kasi nga yan yung isang anggulo na hindi nabigyan ng spotlight eh. But yung money laundering is equally as big of a crime that POGO has perpetuated. So dapat tingnan din natin yan in detail (That's because it's an angle that hasn't been given much attention. But money laundering is just as significant a crime that POGO has committed. So we should also examine that in detail),“ Gatchalian said during the Kapihan sa Senado forum.
"Katulad ng sinabi ko nga paano nakapasok P7 billion ng hindi nade-detect ng Anti-Money Laundering Council at bakit hindi dine-declare ng bangko? Tayo nga diba kapag nagdeposit ka ng more than P500,000 magrereport?Definitely, mayroong pagkukulang doon (As I mentioned, how did P7 billion enter without being detected by the AMLC, and why wasn't it declared by the bank? When we deposit more than P500,000, a report is definitely required... there is clearly a lapse there)," he added.
Gatchalian has said before that companies owned by Guo Hua Ping, also known as Alice Guo, were involved in bank transactions amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos which may have enabled her to construct and establish the POGO hub in Bamban.
The senator surmised that companies set up by the Guo family, such as QJJ Farms and QJJ Embroidery, were likely used as conduits for money laundering to fund the construction of the POGO hub in Bamban, estimated to have cost over P6 billion.
According to Gatchalian, bank transactions involving Guo companies amounted to hundreds of millions of pesos – far beyond what their financial statements indicated as their financial capacity.
He even highlighted the money laundering case that AMLC filed against Guo and 35 others.
The case involves funds, initially intended to pay Baofu Land Development’s electricity bills, which were systematically laundered through multiple bank accounts to conceal their illicit origins. Baofu is the property developer that owns the land where the POGO hub in Bamban was constructed.