Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has raised concerns that a well-entrenched criminal syndicate involved in money laundering may have facilitated the escape of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Leal Guo (also known as Guo Hua Ping) and her sister Sheila.
Gatchalian told DWIZ in an interview last Saturday that the sisters have ties to a significant money laundering case in Singapore. He said this was established based on documents they obtained concerning Baofu Land Development, Inc., where the ousted mayor held a 50-percent stake.
Documents submitted by Baofu Land to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2019 revealed that two of Guo’s incorporators, Zhang Ruijin, a Chinese national, and Baoying Lin, a Dominican Republic citizen, were both implicated in Singapore’s largest money laundering case.
Zhang was convicted in connection with this case, reportedly having $41 million in overseas assets, including shares in a Philippine real estate development firm. Lin, the only woman charged in the Singapore case, was also a convicted fugitive involved in billion-dollar money laundering. She was also among those who evaded arrest during a raid on the POGO compound in Porac, Pampanga.
Gatchalian further disclosed that those who booked a hotel in Indonesia for Guo and her entourage were also linked to money laundering activities.
On August 21, Indonesian immigration authorities arrested Guo’s sister, Shiela, who serves as the corporate secretary for most of the family’s companies, and Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of Lucky South 99, an illegal POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator) hub in Bamban, which was raided by authorities.
One of the individuals who assisted Guo in booking the hotel was identified as Zhang Jie, former president of Lucky South 99.
“We saw that they were assisting each other. They are not only business associates, but they also helped the Guo family to escape,” Gatchalian said, adding this case illustrates how money launderers operate transnationally, not just in the Philippines.
The senator highlighted that the Guo family, including its patriarch, has been moving across various Asian countries, including China, indicating their active involvement in these illegal activities.
Gatchalian, alongside Sen. Risa Hontiveros, has been leading Senate hearings into the illegal POGO operations linked to the Guos.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police is hoping for a “positive development” that will lead to the return of the wanted dismissed mayor to the Philippines.
PNP Spokesperson, Police Colonel Jean Fajardo, said that their efforts to find Guo and several persons of interest are continuing and now involve their foreign counterparts such as the Interpol.
“Hopefully, similar to the case of Cassandra Li Ong, and Shiela Guo, there will also be a positive development and we can bring Alice Guo home, back to the country,” the police official said.
Authorities from Indonesia last Friday had arrested and deported Guo’s sister Shiela and business partner, Cassandra Li Ong, the authorized representative of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) that was raided in Porac, Pampanga.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Gatchalian links money laundering syndicate behind Guo escape”
