27-5-2024 (MANILA) In a shocking revelation, the mayor of a small town in the Philippines has been entangled in Singapore’s $3 billion money laundering case, exposing a tangled web of alleged illegal operations and questionable financial dealings. The saga unfolds as Alice Guo, the mayor of Bamban in the province of Tarlac, north of Manila, finds herself under the scrutiny of the Philippine Senate for her purported involvement in illegal scam hubs.
According to documents obtained by Senator Risa Hontiveros, who is spearheading the probe, Guo incorporated Baofu Land Development in 2019 alongside Chinese nationals Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, as well as Philippine national Rachel Joan Malonzo Carreon and Cypriot national Huang Zhiyang. The company allegedly constructed a compound in Bamban that housed illicit scam operations.
The links between Guo and the couple became evident when Zhang, a 45-year-old Chinese national who also holds a passport from Saint Kitts and Nevis, was sentenced to 15 months in jail after pleading guilty in Singapore to money laundering and forgery charges on April 30. Meanwhile, his lover and fellow Chinese national Lin, aged 44, who also possesses a passport from Dominica, faces 10 charges, including the use of forged documents and possession of criminal proceeds. She is expected to enter a guilty plea on May 30.
Despite these revelations, the 38-year-old Guo has vehemently denied any knowledge of her business partners’ criminal activities, asserting that she divested from the company in 2022 before running for mayor and claiming to have never spoken to the couple directly. She admits to communicating solely with Huang, now a fugitive wanted by the Philippine Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission.
The 10-hectare compound developed by Baofu Land Development, situated behind the Bamban Municipal Hall, is a sprawling complex housing 36 structures, including barracks, villas, an Olympic-size swimming pool, and a secret tunnel connecting the villas. Hongsheng Gaming Technology Incorporated, a company located within the compound, allegedly operated fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scams under the guise of a legitimate Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO). The compound was raided by authorities in February 2023, leading to the arrest of 875 individuals and the discovery of love-scam scripts, mobile phones allegedly used for scam operations, and reports of illegal detentions within the premises.
Guo’s personal history and background have also come under scrutiny during the Senate hearing. She described herself as the “love child” of a Chinese man and a Filipino woman who worked as his housemaid, claiming to have grown up in isolation on a pig farm due to the shame of being an illegitimate child. Her birth certificate was issued when she was 17 years old, and she registered to vote in Bamban only in 2021, a year before her mayoral bid, raising questions about her Philippine nationality.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has thrown his support behind the Senate’s investigation, fueling doubts over Guo’s identity by stating, “I know all the politicians in Tarlac, and no one knows her. We’re wondering where she came from.”
Guo’s lavish lifestyle has also come under scrutiny, with documents revealing her ownership of a helicopter and 16 vehicles, including a McLaren 620R entered in a car show contest. While she admitted to owning the helicopter, initially intended for an air taxi business venture, she claimed to have since sold it. Guo also defended her possession of luxury goods, such as a Bulgari Serpenti Viper necklace worth 11.9 million pesos (S$276,000), a Louis Vuitton silk shirt, and a Chanel bag, stating that the vehicles belonged to her car dealership business and that the McLaren was borrowed from a friend.
Senator Hontiveros has taken aim at Guo’s alleged criminal links, questioning whether her extravagant lifestyle is funded by illicit activities, stating, “Is this why she can afford her extravagant lifestyle? Could her purchases of helicopters and luxury cars come from criminals and fugitives?” Guo has repeatedly denied any involvement in criminal operations, asserting, “I’m not connected with nor a protector or coddler of Pogos. I have no knowledge about their operations.”
However, the authorities have taken action, stripping Guo of control over the Philippine National Police within her jurisdiction on May 20. The controversy surrounding POGOs, which contributed around $1.3 billion to the Philippine economy in 2022, has been a source of contention, with some lawmakers claiming that licensed online gambling operators are fronts for scam hubs exploiting human trafficking victims.
