The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. listed Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc. among the 22 Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators with canceled licenses to operate as of Oct. 6, 2022, according to the state regulator's website1. The listing places the Tarlac-based company in the group of POGOs whose authority to run offshore gaming in the Philippines had been withdrawn by that date1.
Hongsheng had been licensed by PAGCOR to operate as a POGO in the country1. On Dec. 16, 2020, the municipal council of Bamban, Tarlac allowed the company to establish and operate a "business of amusement, entertainment, recreation and gaming activities" in the town, "provided that the gaming activities conducted therein shall be exclusive only to their members and their community"1. The council's resolution stated that Hongsheng said it was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission "although no copy of its registration was provided" to the local legislative body1.
The cancellation preceded a law enforcement operation at the company's premises. Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Central Luzon raided the establishment in Bamban on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, over an allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency investment operation1. The CIDG-3 said it arrested a Malaysian national identified as Chai Kiat Chiw and held 850 employees of Hongsheng Gaming Technology, Inc., which it described as 350 foreigners and 500 Filipinos1. Three other officers of the company, Yu Zheng Can, Zhiyang Huang and Thelma Larnan, remained at large1.
The raid was based on a warrant to search, seize and examine computer data for alleged violations of the Securities Regulations Code of the Philippines' provisions on fraudulent transactions and of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 20121. The warrant was issued by Judge Maria Roma Flor Ortiz of the Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 63 on Jan. 31, 2023, and was served at the company's premises in Anupul village around 5 p.m. on Feb. 11.
"As a backgrounder, Hong Sheng Gaming Technology Inc. allegedly operates fraudulent cryptocurrency investment scams shielded under the cloak of a permitted or licensed offshore gaming operation"
What it means for players
The PAGCOR listing means Hongsheng was not among the offshore gaming operators authorized to hold a Philippine license as of Oct. 6, 20221. Players checking whether an operator is licensed in the Philippines can consult PAGCOR's published list of canceled and active licensees, which is where the Hongsheng entry appeared1. The company's local authority to run gaming activities in Bamban came from a municipal council resolution in December 2020, not from PAGCOR, and that resolution limited gaming to members and their community1.
The Feb. 1, 2023 raid concerned alleged fraudulent cryptocurrency investment activity rather than the offshore gaming operation itself, and the allegations in the search warrant have not been reported as resolved1. The status of the 800 employees held during the operation, and of the three officers reported at large, has not been reported1.
What happens next
No next steps in the case have been reported1.
Sources1 sources
- CIDG raids Pogo firm in Tarlac; rounds up 850 foreign, Filipino employees | Inquirer News, newsinfo.inquirer.net
