P14-B worth of Pogo transactions related to ‘suspicious activities’

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) on Thursday disclosed that there are P14 billion worth of transactions made by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogos) that are considered to be “suspicious.”

During the Senate blue ribbon committee’s hearing on the alleged money laundering, crimes, and other suspicious activities associated with Pogos, AMLC Secretariat executive director Mel Georgie Racela said that Pogos had P54 billion-worth of transactions from 2017 to 2019.

Of this amount, P14 billion was seen to be related to “suspicious activities,” Racela said.

Racela presented a breakdown of the said amount based on AMLC’s risk assessment report on Pogos as follows:

• Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 violations – 4.9 billion worth of suspicious activities
• Drug trafficking – 6 suspicious activities
• No underlying legal or trade obligation (565 confidential reports received approximately in value amount of P4 billion)
• Deviation from client’s profile (34 confidential reports received approximately amounting to P2.4 billion)
• Amount involved is not commensurate with the business financial capacity of the client (363 confidential reports received amounting to approximately P2.2 billion)
• When the client is not properly identified (36 confidential reports received amounting to approximately P231 million)
• Fraud (nine reports amounting to approximately 121 million)

In the same hearing, PNP Deputy Director for Operations Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said there were 73 kidnapping incidents related to casinos from 2017 to 2020.

Eleazar added 17 casino-related kidnapping incidents had been recorded in 2017, 16 cases in 2018, 38 cases in 2019, and two cases so far this year.

The kidnapping cases had a total of 80 victims—19 victims in 2017, 17 victims in 2018, 42 victims in 2019, and two victims in 2020.

All 80 victims are Chinese nationals, Eleazar said.

Drilon expressed that he is for stopping the operations of Pogos in the country, saying the problems brought by the industry “is not worth it.”

Drilon said that the fees generated by Pagcor are less than one-third of one percent of the country’s economy.

“Yet, all these social problems really point to the policy of stopping Pogos, because it is not worth what we see of adverse effects on society,” the senator said.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin also asked if the money from the said “suspicious activities” have any relation to the kidnapping cases involving Pogo workers, Racela said: “For kidnapping for ransom, we need information that the ransom was paid or coursed through the banking system para mag-trigger nung suspicious transaction reporting.”

Edited by MUF