The Anti-Money Laundering Council launched on Tuesday an investigation into the alleged laundering of the P200 million ransom paid to the kidnappers of Chinese business-man Anson Que.
AMLC said it is working closely with the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the casinos used by two junket operators.
The PNP authorities have alleged that the P200 million ransom paid by the family of Chi-nese businessman Anson Que went to the two casino junket operators.
“The illicit scheme reportedly utilized e-wallets intended exclusively for casino gaming, shell accounts and cryptocurrency to obscure the money trail,” AMLC said in a statement.
AMLC said it is collaborating with the PNP “to gather evidence on the unlawful activities, tracing the ransom funds in all their forms, and pursuing forfeiture proceedings.”
“The investigation extends beyond the kidnappers who directed the ransom payment pro-cess. It also targets casino players within these junket operations who initially received the ransom funds via their e-wallets,” AMLC said.
Announcement of exit
Authorities earlier said the Que family paid P200 million in ransom for his freedom and his driver. Both were last seen alive on March 29. Their bodies were found in Rodriguez, Rizal on April 9.
According to the PNP, the kidnappers sent the money to the two junket
operators. The mon-ey was later transferred to several accounts and e-wallets and passed to cryptocurrency wallets.
The PNP said the two junket operators were used as a conduit to launder the ransom mon-ey.
The AMLC, however, said it has received reports that the two junket operators have ended their junket operations in most, if not all, Philippine casinos on May 7, 2025.
One junket operator, the 9 Dynasty Group has announced its exit from the Philippine mar-ket.
According to the PNP, the 9 Dynasty Group is owned by Li Duan Wang, alias Mark Ong, whose application for naturalization was approved by the Senate but later vetoed by Presi-dent Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Unlicensed operations
The AMLC said it is coordinating with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Securi-ties and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding unlicensed junket operators of e-wallets with cryptocurrency conversion capabilities.
Under BSP Circular No. 11085, cryptocurrency exchanges in the Philippines must be li-censed and regulated by the BSP as virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
VASPs need to register with the BSP to operate legally. The SEC is also developing further licensing requirements for crypto trading entities.
“Additionally, AMLC is coordinating with foreign financial intelligence units to gather more information on the movement of funds originating from the Philippines,” AMLC said.
Serious vulnerabilities
John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute of Development Stud-ies, said the case highlights “serious vulnerabilities in the country’s anti-money laundering system, especially in detecting high-risk, high-value transactions involving criminal ele-ments.”
“While the legislative framework has improved, this incident suggests that real-time surveil-lance, inter-agency coordination, and risk-based monitoring remain weak. Criminals ap-pear to find still ways to exploit the system,” Rivera said in a Viber message.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) monitors the country’s ability to detect, investigate, and prosecute complex money laundering cases.
In February, the FATF issued a statement removing the Philippines from the gray list, noting that it is no longer subject to increased monitoring by the FATF.
However, Rivera said that a high-profile incident like this could raise red flags unless the in-vestigation is swift, transparent and leads to clear accountability.
“There is a need to strengthen due diligence, especially in non-bank financial institutions, high-value transactions, and underground remittance channels,” Rivera said.
He urged the government to expand the coverage of reporting entities, bolster beneficial ownership transparency, and automate data sharing across agencies.
“The case puts pressure on authorities to demonstrate that reforms are not only on paper but are also working in practice,” Rivera said.
Comprehensive regulation
Scam Watch Pilipinas co-founder and co-lead convenor Jocel de Guzman said the case “underscores the urgent need for comprehensive cryptocurrency regulation in the Philip-pines.”
“This incident reveals critical vulnerabilities in our financial oversight, where digital assets can be exploited for serious crimes like kidnapping, scams, and money laundering,” de Guzman said in a statement.
“We urge policymakers and regulators to implement robust frameworks, including stringent know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering protocols for all VASPs, and to en-hance international collaboration to monitor cross-border cryptocurrency transactions effectively,” de Guzman said.
Scam Watch Pilipinas is a national, privately funded, volunteer-based anti-scam advocacy organization in the Philippines.
Rivera added that stricter regulations for cryptocurrencies in the country are becoming in-creasingly necessary.
“Not to stifle innovation, but to ensure financial stability, investor protection and national security,” he said.
Rivera said cryptocurrencies are highly volatile and largely unregulated. “Many Filipinos have been exposed to scams, rug pulls, and speculative losses due to limited understand-ing and oversight.”
“Regulation would help enforce transparency and require clear disclosures from crypto platforms. Clear and consistent rules can actually attract responsible fintech innovation. Countries like Singapore have shown that well-defined crypto regulation can build trust, at-tract investment, and foster responsible growth,” Rivera added.
