Alice Guo, Cassandra Ong, 34 others face money laundering charges
Dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo and 35 other individuals have been charged with money laundering before the Department of Justice.
Three agencies, namely the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), filed the complaints, which include 87 counts of money laundering, on Aug. 30.
AMLC Deputy Director Adrian Arpon said that the cases involved an estimated P7 billion.
"Based on our findings, [Guo] is the principal in the money laundering committed in this case. She used several entities in transferring her money. It went to an entity," he said. "Ultimately it ended up with Baofu to pay, among others, electric bills.
Among those named in the complaints are the dismissed mayor, her supposed sister Shiela Guo, her alleged cohort Cassandra Ong, former Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, and officials of Zun Yuan Technology Inc., QJJ Farms, Hongshen Gaming Technology Inc., Baofu Land Development Inc., and QSeed Genetics.
Other respondents include Jian Zhong Guo, Lin Wenyi, and Seimen Guo.
"Alice Guo and her cohorts intended to create layers and layers of corporations to make it appear that they were engaged in profitable and legitimate businesses, but in fact, they are not," the complaint said.
It also charged Guo as an incorporator of Baofu, QJJ Farm, QSEED, and former Bamban mayor.
DOJ Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking Prosecutor Benjamin Samson also explained Ong's involvement in the complaint.
"['Yun] ay dahil base sa investigation nag inawa ng NBI, AMLC, at ng PAOCC, totoo nga may ebidensya na ang Bamban at Porac POGO hubs ay iisa ang mga personalities involved," he said as per a GMA News report.
"The money that was used to basically build Zun Yuan from May to early 2021 was actually emanating from the scamming proceeds of Lucky South 99,' Samson added.
Guo, Cunanan, and 12 others also face human trafficking charges for their alleged ties to a raided Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub.
Ong and the mayor's purported sister Shiela were apprehended in Bantam City in Indonesia on Aug. 20. They were brought to the Philippines on Aug. 22 and taken to the Bureau of Immigration headquarters in Manila.
Shiela got an arrest order from the Senate due to immigration violations.
The NBI also found that Shiela is a Chinese citizen named Zhang Mier who "fraudulently acquired" a Philippine passport upon examining her fingerprints and other records.
Ong faces charges of obstruction of justice and violation of the passport law, as well as a contempt order from the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Alice Guo is still in Jakarta, as per the DOJ.