On August 22, Philippine police arrested 32 Filipinos and 67 foreigners, including residents of China, Malaysia, and other countries, during the raid of the scam center in Manila. The owner and manager of the center, both Chinese nationals, were also arrested.
The Chinese scam center was reportedly operating under the guise of a licensed online casino company (POGO -Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators).
Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGOs are online gambling firms that are territorially located in the Philippines but serve customers outside the country.
A month earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. banned POGOs in the country because of their connection to fraud, kidnapping, human trafficking, and murder.
According to police, the center was involved in “cryptocurrency investment fraud” and “romance scams.” Employees posed as wealthy models, lured victims, and forced them to invest in a fake cryptocurrency trading platform. To attract victims, some employees were forced to dress seductively and were engaged in lewd acts.
According to the detainees, they were forced to engage in SCAM activity.
Authorities believe there may be several hundred illegal online gambling companies operating in the country, and many of the 40 licensed operators are also fraudulent centers.
- Details are available on Google news.
- Also about the arrest of Chinese in Thailand: https://cpa.rip/en/news/online-casino-organisers-arrest/
