(Bloomberg) — The Philippines said a former local official involved in alleged money laundering through online casinos in China has left the country, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for her departure.
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“We will expose the culprits who betrayed the trust of the people and helped her escape,” Marcos said in a statement Wednesday. “Let me be clear: heads will roll.”
Ousted Mayor Alice Guo arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Denpasar, Indonesia, on July 18 and flew to Singapore three days later, Winston Casio, spokesman for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, said in a message to reporters Monday night, citing immigration records from those countries.
Guo arrived in Batam, Indonesia, on a ferry from Singapore on Aug. 18, he added. Her lawyer, Stephen David, said in a telephone conversation Tuesday that Guo had told him she was still in the Philippines.
The former mayor’s bank accounts were previously frozen over suspected money laundering, human trafficking and fraud. She was investigated by the Senate over alleged ties to China-focused casinos that have since been banned. Her camp denies wrongdoing.
The Philippine Department of Justice also said Tuesday it will launch an investigation into how Guo was able to leave the country despite an order from the immigration department directing authorities to closely monitor her movements.
–With assistance from Cliff Venzon.
(Rewrites the head, begins with the president’s statement.)
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