Alice Guo, Bamban bosses face new money laundering charges

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DOJ) will file 62 counts of money laundering charges against dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, according to a new indictment that also accused her of being the “architect” of the alleged scam farm in Bamban, Tarlac.

“The involvement of respondent Alice Leal Guo in the grand scheme cannot be overemphasized. She appears to be its brainchild and/or architect,” says the indictment dated December 20, a copy of which was obtained by Rappler on Wednesday, January 15. Rappler has reached out to Guo’s lawyer for comment, and will update this once we get a response.

A panel of prosecutors recommended 26 counts of Section 4(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act or transacting money or property; five counts of Section 4(b) or converting, transfering, disposing of, moving, acquiring, possessing or using money or property; and 31 counts of Section 4(d) or attempting to conspire to commit money laundering. The complaints under Section 4(c) or concealing the true nature of money or property were dismissed.

Aside from Guo, the 31 counts of attempting to conspire to commit money laundering were also recommended against Guo’s parents and siblings, as well as the officials of the companies involved in the Bamban operation, including Guo’s real estate company Baofu, and the two Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) that leased there.

The complaint included Katherine Cassandra Ong, but prosecutors cleared her in this case saying that they “find no iota of her connection, participation, or involvement in the criminal offenses attributable to the aforesaid five companies.” The complaint accused Ong of funding the construction of the buildings inside Baofu. On paper, she is an authorized representative of the POGO in Porac, Pampanga, and an official of the leasing company Whirlwind. She is also the girlfriend of Guo’s brother Wesley.

Ong was released from House detention before the 2024 Christmas holidays. She faces a separate human trafficking complaint related wholly to the Porac operation.

‘Brainchild or architect’

Guo has told the Senate that the “big boss” of the alleged criminal activities, which she denied knowledge of, was Huang Zhiyang — a Chinese native who is wanted in China for illegal gambling. Huang is included in the 31 counts of money laundering.

Rappler’s series of investigations has found that Huang is a significant player in what appears to be a transnational network of scamming activities that operate out of Southeast Asia. Our latest investigation found that Huang was a beneficiary of the now-scrapped Cyprus golden passport program, and it was his Cypriot passport that was used to incorporate the Bamban company.

Huang was considered to have waived his right to defense in his case. He holds multiple passports and could be anywhere in the world. He left the Philippines shortly after the government raid on the Bamban compound.

Prosecutors highlighted Guo’s act of purchasing the parcels of land, and then ensuring the operational expenses of the buildings that were eventually constructed were paid.

Guo told prosecutors that paying the electricity bills was her way of ensuring that her name and credit standing were not tainted, since some of the accounts were under her name as the leasing incorporator. She claims she divested before she ran and won as mayor in 2022.

But it was a red flag to prosecutors that Baofu, the leasing company, “stopped using the banking system in September 2020 despite continuous operation.” When Baofu stopped using the banking system, the first POGO — Hongsheng — started operating .

The theory of operatives is that money flows through these scam farms using cryptocurrency, or other illicit underground models.

In Bamban, prosecutors found it suspect that some money flowed through Guo’s other family-owned companies related to the supply chain of pork, some of which are registered under her family members’ names as well.

“It is very apparent that proceeds from the unlawful activity were diverted and channeled through Alice Go’s other businesses, specifically QJ Farm and Seed Genetics, Alice Guo herself, or other entities,” said the indictment, describing these companies as “transit accounts.”

Money earned through the scam farm were allegedly funneled into the other Guo companies, a portion of which would then be used to pay for the operating expenses. This “inter-account money transfers” led to the prosecution theory that “these companies appear to be part of the grand design to provide a place where the POGO hub should be operated and persons would be trafficked and forced to perform investment and love scam activities for substantial gain.”

“This is undeniable since the buildings that have been constructed at the site resembled prison-like facilities with strict security,” said the indictment.

The Baofu compound is now under government custody. – Rappler.com

For more of Rappler’s stories in its ongoing POGO investigation, visit this page.