99 arrested in Philippine raid on Chinese-run center

Philippine authorities carried out a pre-dawn raid on a Chinese-run scam center in Manila on August 22, arresting nearly 100 people involved in crypto and romance scams.

Philippine police raided a Chinese-run scam center in the Philippine capital of Manilla on August 22, arresting dozens of Filipinos and foreign workers who were allegedly tricking people into buying fraudulent investments, according to Barrons.

The center was running crypto and romance scams. This involves scammers posing as wealthy models to convince victims to invest in a trading platform. Operating under the guise of a licensed online gaming company, the center was targeted after intelligence reports confirmed the existence of fraudulent activity.

The raid took place at Centrium Tower 1 in Parañaque City, where 64 foreign nationals, including 56 Chinese nationals, were arrested. Those arrested included the center’s director, owner and supervisor, all of whom were Chinese nationals. Additionally, 32 Filipinos were detained, some of whom claimed they were forced to work as fraudsters. At the time of writing, the total number of those arrested was 99.

Earlier this year, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission announced plans to introduce crypto regulations in late 2024 to improve investor safety and regulate trading platforms. The move comes after a crackdown on unlicensed crypto service providers, including a ban on Binance and efforts to remove its app from major app stores.

Illegal crypto activities

During the raid, police reported that the centre employed customer service representatives who posed as wealthy models to persuade victims to invest in the fraudulent trading platform. Rooms equipped for indecent shows were also discovered, highlighting the extent of the illegal activities.

The crackdown comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. imposed a ban on online gaming operators over their links to fraud, human trafficking and other crimes. Authorities believe several illegal gambling establishments and some licensed operators are involved in similar fraudulent schemes.

Charges are being prepared against those arrested under the Cyber ​​Crime Prevention Act, 2012 and the Securities Regulation Act.