Malacañang orders asset freeze of raided Pogo firm

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Monday directed the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze and preserve the entire compound, including other assets, of Zun Yuan Technology Inc., a Philippine offshore gaming operator raided in Bamban, Tarlac¹. Bersamin also issued a memorandum directing the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration to facilitate the "summary deportation" of the 499 foreign workers rescued during the March 13 raid¹.

The raid was based on two court-issued search warrants for alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention of the Pogo workers, according to Winston Casio, spokesperson for the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission¹. A total of 868 Pogo workers were rescued: 371 Filipinos, 427 Chinese, 57 Vietnamese, eight Malaysians, three Taiwanese and two Indonesians¹. The rescued workers were housed at the detention and holding center of the PAOCC headquarters in Pasay City¹.

The company's 10-hectare compound has 36 multistory buildings¹. Bersamin's freeze order also covered the 46 cars, five motorcycles, nine Pogo carts and heavy equipment found within the compound during the raid¹.

Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 81 Judge Hermenegildo Dumlao II ordered the opening of the 27 money vaults of the Pogo firm based at Baofu Compound in Anupul village¹. Authorities failed to open the vaults immediately on Monday because there had been no power or water supply in the compound for about two weeks, and grinders could not be used to cut the vault's cover and locks; an acetylene torch was used instead¹. As of 11:10 a.m., two vaults were opened inside the company's administration building, containing documents, several Chinese passports and a few red envelopes¹. Police Lt. Col. Jose Joey Arandia, head of the CIDG National Capital Region, said they would open all 27 vaults as ordered by the court¹.

Bersamin said eight of the foreigners who would be charged with human trafficking and serious illegal detention were not covered by the deportation order¹. Casio identified the eight as Wang Weili, Wuli Dong, Nung Ding Chang, Lang Xu Po and Shang Shi Cong, all Chinese nationals; Walter Wong Long, a Malaysian; and Ma The Phong and Huang Yue Hai, both Vietnamese nationals¹. A Filipino identified as Maybeline Millo is among the suspects¹. Casio said charges against the nine individuals were filed at the Malolos City RTC Branch 81 on March 15¹.

What it means for players

The freeze covers the physical compound and assets of one Pogo operator in Bamban, Tarlac, not the wider offshore gaming sector. Players using other licensed Pogo operators are not directly affected by this order, based on what has been reported¹. The case centers on alleged human trafficking and serious illegal detention of workers, which is separate from the licensing and tax rules that govern legal Pogo play¹. For anyone assessing the safety of offshore gambling operations in the region, the raid and the asset freeze are documented examples of how scam compounds can operate behind a gaming license, and of the enforcement response that follows¹. General guidance on identifying and reporting fraudulent operators is set out in the site's gambling scams and safety section, and the country's licensing framework is covered in Can I Gamble in the Philippines?¹.

What happens next

Authorities were to open all 27 vaults as ordered by the Malolos court¹. The eight foreigners facing human trafficking and serious illegal detention charges were excluded from the deportation order, and their cases were filed at the Malolos City RTC Branch 81 on March 15¹. The 499 other foreign workers face summary deportation processing through the DOJ and BI¹. No date has been reported for the completion of the vault openings or the deportations.