The Philippine National Police conducted a raid at 2 AM yesterday (August 22) on an illegal online gambling company located on the ninth floor of the Centrium building in Parañaque City, detaining at least 400 employees.
Among those arrested were the company manager Nan Shan, company owner Detu Su, and supervisor Wu Jian Bin. Additionally, 64 foreigners—including 56 Chinese citizens, 4 Malaysians, 2 Burmese, 1 Indonesian, and 1 Vietnamese—as well as 32 Filipinos were arrested.
One 24-year-old employee stated, "We actively seek out clients and engage with them, inviting them to invest once we gain their trust. Once their investment reaches a certain amount, they can no longer withdraw it." Another employee, who claimed to be new, said, "I am not familiar with the actual activities; I was recruited as a recruiter. They promised me a high salary, but there is also a penalty system if I make mistakes."
The Philippine authorities stated that the scam center's employees used special software to lure clients into investing in a fake cryptocurrency trading platform, trapping their funds indefinitely. Most victims were foreign nationals. Police investigations revealed that the company was not registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission and used customer service representatives disguised as wealthy models to entice victims to invest in their manipulated cryptocurrency trading platform.
During the raid, police also discovered rooms used for filming indecent performances. Some Filipino employees stated that they were forced to participate in the scam, while the so-called "models" were forced to wear provocative clothing and perform indecent acts to deceive victims.
Authorities are currently preparing to prosecute the suspects, charging them with violations of the 2012 Cybercrime Prevention Act and Philippine securities laws.
