are alleged to have been involved in a complex scheme of money laundering linked to the crimes of estafa (or fraudulent acts), qualified trafficking in persons, and violations of the Securities Regulation Code,» the AMLC said in a statement. «These individuals … Alice Guo, also known as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping, is wanted by the Senate for refusing to attend hearings on her alleged criminal ties. She has denied the accusations, insisting she is a natural-born Philippine citizen facing «malicious accusations».
Guo, who was recently removed from office by the local government ombudsman, has fled the country, traveling to Malaysia and Singapore last month and Indonesia this month using her Philippine passport, the Philippine anti-crime agency said. Her father Thaksin is widely seen as a major force behind her government and in a dinner speech last month backed the casino plan, noting the potential benefits from regulating and taxing online gambling and formalising the larger underground economy. Paetongtarn’s ruling Pheu Thai Party has argued Thailand has fallen behind its neighbours in the gaming industry.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty) In Southeast Asia, Cambodia, Singapore, Myanmar and the Philippines have legalised casinos, some of which are located on the other side of Thailand’s borders, catering overwhelmingly to Thai and Chinese customers, many on weekend junkets. One of its first advocates was influential billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose youngest daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was sworn in as prime minister last month.
Her ally and predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, was the main proponent of the latest casino push but was removed from office by a court decision last month. Several Thai governments have pushed to legalise gambling before to try to boost jobs and state revenues and draw more foreign tourists, but each attempt met pushback from conservatives in the Buddhist majority country. When you beloved this short article as well as you would like to receive details regarding BK8 generously go to the web site. The conclusion of a public hearing conducted online over a bill to establish a «mega entertainment complex» housing a casino showed 80% of participants agreed with the plan, Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said.
BANGKOK, Sept 5 (Reuters) — Thailand’s new government will move ahead with plans to introduce casinos after a public hearing showed strong support to create a big entertainment complex offering gambling, a senior official said on Thursday. The council also sought to forfeit 6 billion pesos worth of assets including real estate properties, luxury vehicles and a helicopter that Guo and her associates accumulated through alleged illegal activities. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), with the National Bureau of Investigation and Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, jointly filed multiple counts of money laundering against Guo and 35 others at the Department of Justice.
Guo’s case comes at a time of growing Philippine suspicion about China’s activities following an increasingly tense dispute over reefs and shoals in the busy waterway of the South China Sea, where both nations have overlapping claims. The Senate’s investigation began in May after authorities raided a casino in Guo’s sleepy farming town of Bamban in March, uncovering what the authorities said were scams being perpetrated from a facility built on land partially owned by the former mayor.