Philippines bribery scandal deepens

The bribery scandal swirling around Chinese online gambling fugitive Bo Wang (see previous reports) deepened Tuesday as Philippines lawmakers prodded the nation’s Central Bank and its Anti-Money Laundering Council for an explanation on how P91 billion from an illegal gambling syndicate in China managed to get into the country undetected.

The allegations that top officials in the Bureau of Immigration were bribed to support the release and cancellation of a deportation order on Wang – allegedly the ring leader of a massive illegal internet gambling ring in China and a fugitive from justice in that country – have engulfed certain politicians said to have been given some of the money to vote for a certain law.

The top man in the Bureau of Immigration, Siegfried Mison, has involved the Secretary for Justice, asking for a full investigation into the conduct of his subordinates. This week Mison has additionally promised to give a full report on the matter before the House of Representatives.

The Speaker of the House, Feliciano Belmonte Jr., has also called for an in-depth investigation by the Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability into the MPs who were allegedly bribed and the Liberal Party.

The committee will also enquire into how Wang’s “huge” amounts of money entered the Philippines, apparently undetected.