Alice Guo accounts: Senator questions bank silence in big money trail

Metro Manila, Philippines – In just three years, billions of pesos entered the bank accounts of a mayor at the center of a Senate investigation on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) activities in her town, prompting a senator to raise concerns on bank transparency over suspicious transactions.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, on Friday raised concerns about a possible conspiracy between suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo and a number of banks.

Bulk of transactions were observed beginning in 2019, the same year that the construction of the POGO hub in Bamban town began, Gatchalian noted, citing information from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

Without giving specific figures or naming banks, Gatchalian said billions went in and out of Guo’s accounts until 2022.

“If you look at the timeline, 2019 pa na malaki yung transaction… Bakit hindi nareport ng bangko?” Gatchalian asked.

“Ang suspetya ko dito, meron ding pagkukulang yung bangko. Baka yung mga bangko lalo na yung mga branches, meron ding kuntsabahan na nangyari at hindi nireport kaagad sa AMLC,” Gatchalian added.

[Translation: If you look at the timeline, the significant transactions began in 2019. Why did the banks not report this? I suspect shortcomings on the side of the banks. There could be a conspiracy involving the branches to spare this from AMLC reporting.]

Gatchalian explained that the Anti-Money Laundering Act requires banks to report suspicious activities to the AMLC.

The law states that banks should report so-called “covered transactions,” which is defined as “a transaction in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount in excess of P500,000 within one banking day.”

The AMLC found 36 bank accounts under Guo’s name.

The Court of Appeals on Thursday granted the AMLC petition for a freeze order on all accounts, as well as Guo’s 12 landholdings, 12 motor vehicles, and one helicopter.

The freeze order also covered two other people tagged in illegal POGO activities, Zhiyang Huang and Baoying Lin, which covered a total of 90 bank accounts across 14 financial institutions, several real properties, and high-value personal properties.

Gatchalian said this means Guo and her cohorts could not justify where the money came from.

The senator said he plans to file a resolution for a separate probe from the current inquiry led by Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality.