FILIPINO-CHINESE gaming lord Charlie Ang earns more than P2.37 billion a month using his Meridien Vista Gaming Corp. as a legal front to continue his illegal jueteng operations in 13 provinces, the head of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said Friday.
Contrary to Ang’s claims that he was operating a jai alai game using his Meridien Vista Gaming Corp., PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan said the recent raids in the provinces showed that he was bankrolling the illegal jueteng operations there.
“For him that is legal, but if you go to the provinces where he is operating it’s not jai alai but jueteng, which is estimated to be earning around P2.37 billion a month. Yearly it’s its P28 billion,” Balutan told dwFM radio.
He called on the Bureau of Internal Revenue to collect Ang’s back taxes amounting to more than P25 billion.
“While he gains much from his illegal gambling operations, he has failed to do pay the government for more than nine years,” Balutan said.
“In documentary stamp taxes alone he owes the government more than P25 billion.”
Balutan said Ang continued to fail to pay taxes on his gambling operations.
He said Ang’s company was operating jueteng instead of jai alai using his online gambling licenses acquired in the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority.
“The operations of jai alai is one to 10, but if you’ll bet in Meridien operations, he’s playing up one to 37 in 13 provinces. That’s clearly jueteng and it violates his licenses in Ceza,” Balutan said.
Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 13 prohibiting any action for the assignment, sharing, lease, transfer or selling of online gambling licenses in the country.
Balutan said the Supreme Court had already decided to reject Ang’s petition to allow Meridien to operate outside of Ceza’s confines.