MANILA, Philippines – The love scam hub near the World Trade Center recently busted in Pasay City lied to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), and was possibly helped by “powerful Filipinos,” according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
“Puwedeng may makita rin tayong mga Pilipinong mga tumulong po rito, sapagkat may nakikita kaming link sa ilang mga Pilipinong makapangyarihan puwedeng nagma-may-ari at nagpapaupa sa Kimberhi Building,” PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio told Rappler Monday, October 7.
(We can see Filipinos who helped the hub, because we are seeing links to some powerful Filipinos who possibly own or were leasing Kimberhi building.)
The first floor of the two-story Kimberhi Building along Macapagal Avenue in Pasay, ironically very near the Senate that’s investigating Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs, was raided last week, revealing a love scam operation. It displayed an IGL or internet gaming license — the new name of POGOs — from Pagcor, but the gaming regulator said the company, 3D Analyzer Information Technologies Incorporated, had been declared non-operational.
“Niloko nila ‘yung Pagcor, sabi nila hindi na sila operational. Puwede ba ‘yun? Eh may iba, bagong hire lang, pagdating namin dun isang araw, dalawang araw, tatlong linggo, nakita namin sa ID, mga bagong hire, kaya walang plano ang 3D Analyzer na tumigil ng operation, kaya hahabulin namin sila, hindi lang ang mga foreigners na ito,” said Casio.
(They fooled Pagcor, they said they were non-operational. But how can that be? Some workers were newly hired. When we got there, they had just been there one day, two days, three weeks, we saw it in the IDs that they were just new hires, so there was really no plan by the 3D Analyzer to stop operations, so we are going after them, not just these foreigners.)
According to their company records filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), 3D Analyzer was incorporated by five Filipinos in June 2016, and registered as a tech solutions company. It was only in March 2024 when 3D Analyzer amended its articles of incorporation so they could operate as a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) “of interactive gaming websites.” According to the Pagcor permit it displayed on its office, it was given an IGL license in September 2023, valid until September 2024.
From 2022 to 2024, the board members of 3D Analyzer changed a few times, but they were mostly Filipinos, and just one British citizen. In the 2022 General Information Sheet (GIS) of the company, one Chinese name was registered as an officer although that person registered as a Filipino. This person of Chinese descent has an address in Multinational Village in Parañaque, which has also been scrutinized for allegedly running POGOs from vacant homes of the wealthy.
So far, the corporate structure of scam farms has been layered – one company, usually a real estate firm, leases the property to the POGO licensee. Casio said they are still looking into the structure of 3D Analyzer.
“Pinag-aaralan pa po namin sapagkat ayon sa mga inisyal naming nakita, ‘yung main office ng 3D Analyzer hindi ‘yun ang Kimberhi building, meron pa silang main branch dito sa Aseana [City in Parañaque],” said Casio.
(We are still studying it because according to what we initially saw, the main office of 3D Analyzer is not the Kimberhi building, they have a main branch in Aseana.)
Indeed, the addresses in both the 2016 incorporation and the 2024 amended incorporation were not the Kimberhi building, but two different buildings in Makati City and Pasay City, respectively.
POGOs or IGLs have been totally banned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and they have been given until the end of the year to wind down operations. The 3D Analyzer company, therefore, was also supposed to be winding down.
Rappler has sent a message to all the email addresses that 3D Analyzer listed with the SEC, but none has responded.
A total of 254 workers, only 62 of them Filipinos, were caught in the raid. There were 191 foreigners, mostly Chinese, who underwent inquest proceedings on Monday for violation of the immigration law. Whether they had legitimate working visas are of no significance now because they were caught working for an illegal operation. The Filipinos were released because there are currently no basis to hold them.
Filipino workers, Casio said, have been moving from one scam hub to another. “Patalon talon sila ng scam kaya duon ako nalulungkot kasi nanggaling sila sa iba’t ibang scam farms. Sabi ko nga siguro darating ang panahon na hindi dapat sila pinapakawalan lang nang ganon, kaya sila napapakawalan kasi wala tayong material time to develop cases against them,” said Casio.
(They have been moving from one scam to another so that’s what saddens me because they came from different scam farms. As I said, there should come a time where they shouldn’t be released as easily, because they are being released for lack of material time to develop cases against them.) – Rappler.com