Ben Madilynn
A RESOLUTION seeking the conduct of investigation on the involvement of banks in the construction and establishment of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo) in the country was filed in the Senate.
Senator Win Gatchalian filed Senate Resolution 1193, which seeks to look into the apparent failure of banks to flag suspicious transactions related to Pogo, particularly that the amount involved is far beyond the financial capacity of the companies as indicated in their financial statements.
He cited the several bank transactions involving companies owned by dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo amounting to hundreds of millions of pesos that enabled the construction and establishment of the Zun Yuan Technology Inc., formerly Hongsheng Gaming Technology Inc., which was found to be allegedly involved in various illegal activities, including human trafficking, scamming, hacking of government websites, and even murder.
The raided firm was among the reasons President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the total ban of Pogo in the country.
“A remarkable surge in cash flows, check disbursements, and a number of transactions involving the said Guo accounts was highest in 2020 which was highly unusual and suspicious considering that the Covid-19 pandemic paralyzed businesses and economies worldwide,” Gatchalian said.
“The failure of these banks to report these dubious transactions raises the matter of the effectiveness of their internal controls and procedures for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions,” he added.
Gatchalian said these also put into question the adequacy of existing anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (ATM-CTF) regulations and guidelines for banks and financial institutions which require banks to report all covered and suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council within five working days from the date of occurrence.
“The Philippines remains on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list, and our country needs to enhance its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing activities. The private sector’s support and compliance are crucial to strengthening the country’s AML-CTF regime, including increased adherence with AMF-CTF obligations,” said Gatchalian. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)
