According to reports from multiple Philippine media outlets, a significant breakthrough has been achieved in the case of the kidnapping and murder of a Chinese steel magnate surnamed Guo. The Philippine National Police (PNP) announced that with the arrest of a suspect, a woman surnamed Gong on Boracay Island, major progress has been made in the investigation, and the case has been officially declared "solved". However, the police also emphasized that the ransom tracking and investigation into the involved network are still ongoing.
Brigadier General Jean Fajardo, spokesperson for the Philippine National Police, stated that after the arrest of Gong and her companion Wu, the police identified her as one of the masterminds behind the case. The case has now moved into the phase of tracing the stolen money and digging into associated personnel. The Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) is focusing its efforts on tracking the flow of approximately 200 million pesos in ransom paid by the Guo family to the kidnappers.
Initial clues obtained by the police suggest that part of this substantial ransom may have been transferred into an electronic wallet account named "Yuione", registered in Cambodia. Consequently, the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has officially initiated a transnational inquiry procedure, working with Cambodian financial regulatory authorities to trace the flow of funds and potential money laundering routes.
Investigators also suspect that the ransom may have been laundered through casino intermediaries. However, current laws regulate casinos but struggle to control individual intermediary agents, a regulatory gap considered a high-risk link leading to the outflow of stolen funds.
Furthermore, in verifying the identities of the suspects, the Philippine police are cooperating with the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines and other international law enforcement agencies to confirm whether the two elderly people accompanying Gong are indeed her parents. The police emphasize that despite the breakthrough in the case, the focus remains on thoroughly clarifying the entire criminal network, identifying all the masterminds behind the scenes, and recovering the ransom to the greatest extent possible, ensuring that the victim's family ultimately receives legal justice and fair compensation.
