Former mayor Alice Guo accused of gambling-related money laundering in the Philippines
The Department of Justice in the Philippines has approved the filing of 62 counts of money laundering charges against former mayor Alice Guo, and 31 others.
The charges are in connection with a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) hub in the Bamban, Tarlac, region where she was mayor between 30 June 2022 and 13 August 2024.
On Wednesday, Department of Justice spokesperson Mico Clavano said a panel of prosecutors had recommended filing 26 counts of money laundering under section 4(a) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
They also recommended that Guo be charged with five counts of money laundering related to the conversion, transfer, or movement of the illegal proceeds of an unlawful activity.
A further 31 counts of violation of section 4(b) of the AMLA are to be filed against Guo and her co-accused.
A separate charge for concealment of the source of funds against Guo was recommended for dismissal by the Department of Justice
Not all the operations related to Guo’s crimes were gambling-related, with love scams, investment scams, and crypto scams also listed by the panel.
Guo and her co-accused are also facing charges of qualified human trafficking.
POGOs were renamed Internet Gaming Licensees in October 2023. They were firms operating in the Philippines that offered online gambling services to markets outside the country, often catering to the mainland Chinese market, but were famously banned by the Philippines government from 1 January 2025.
