Senate probes banks over POGO money laundering

A Senate panel is set to conduct a deeper investigation into the possible involvement of banks and other financial institutions in money laundering cases linked to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Senator Win Gatchalian, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, announced on Monday that he will soon file a resolution to probe why banks failed to flag P7 billion worth of transactions that enabled former Mayor Alice Guo and her associates to build a POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac.

Gatchalian questioned why the funds used for constructing the POGO hub were not declared by the banks and went undetected by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).

“Money laundering is just as serious a crime,” he said.

He previously suggested that POGO-related criminal activities, such as human trafficking, kidnapping, and scams, could have been prevented if banks had strictly complied with the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Gatchalian lamented that “transactions involving hundreds of millions in POGO-related money should have been flagged.”

During last year’s Senate hearings on POGOs, the AMLC said it was still investigating the source of the funds used to build the 10-hectare POGO complex in Bamban.

Additionally, an investigation is underway into the compliance of banks involved in POGO-related transactions.