POGO masterminds remain outside Philippines — Gatchalian
MANILA, Philippines — Alice Guo’s cohorts, the purported masterminds behind illegal gaming operations, have escaped accountability from Philippine authorities, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said on Sunday, September 8.
Much of the country’s attention has been turned to the former mayor tagged in money laundering and human trafficking charges. Her escape from the country and her consequent arrest by Indonesian authorities has captured the nation’s interest— but the authorities agree that she did not act alone.
Gatchalian, one of the senators leading the investigation into the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), said that the masterminds behind the criminal activities have successfully evaded Philippine authorities.
“Yung is Huang Zhiyang, si Bao Lin, tiyaka si Ruijin [Zhang], ito yung mga konektado sa Baofu Land, lahat sila wala na dito sa Pilipinas. Nakita namin sa flight records, umalis na rin sila,” Gatchalian said on DZBB.
(Huang Zhiyang, Bao Lin, and Ruijin Zhang, these are the ones connected to Baofu Land, all of them are not in the Philippines anymore. We saw the flight records, they have left.)
“Disappointing talaga, alam natin ito yung mga mastermind,” Gatchalian added. (It is disappointing, we know that these are the masterminds.)
Baofu Land is the property developer who leased its land to POGO hub Hongsheng Gaming and Zun Yuan Technology Inc., the same gaming hub with allegations of human trafficking and torture.
Lin and Zhang were convicted in Singapore on May 30, 2024 due to possession of fraudulent documents and money laundering.
To recall, the Senate investigation into Guo’s alleged POGO activities began all the way back in March.
Zhang Jie, who was the president of Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga in 2019, also allegedly helped Guo escape the country.
Gatchalian called Xhang a “big boss” in the POGO business.
Guo’s story has triggered concerns of national security. The Senate investigation has so far painted a picture of Guo, a foreign national, being able to secure a position in government to seemingly facilitate the criminal activities of a Chinese syndicate.
The former mayor now faces multiple cases of money laundering, graft and human trafficking.
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