Philippine senator calls for rejection of citizenship application for alleged links to offshore gaming
Risa Hontiveros says Li Duan Wang is linked to Duanren Wu, the alleged mastermind of an offshore gaming operation.
The Philippines.- Senator Risa Hontiveros has asked colleagues to deny the Filipino citizenship application of Li Duan Wang, also known as Mark Ong, due to alleged links to offshore gaming operations. Hontiveros says Wu is the alleged mastermind behind an offshore gaming operator hub in Porac, Pampanga. He is also the godfather of Cassandra Li Ong and a wanted fugitive in China.
Hontiveros showed photos of Wang with Duanren Wu at a casino event in Clark, Pampanga. She said: Hontiveros said: “It should not inspire confidence in us senators that Wang is an associate of a fugitive and an offshore gaming operator boss embroiled in human trafficking.”
She said Wang runs the 9 Dynasty junket group, which shares officers with Rivendell, and offshore gaming operation in Pasay tied to illegal activities. Wang did not include this information in his citizenship application.
The senator also said that Wang represented himself as a Filipino citizen in the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws of the company Avia International Club, which he didn’t disclose in his naturalisation application. She said, “You cannot be a Filipino citizen while applying to be one. Both facts cannot be true at the same time. This clear lie already suggests bad faith on the part of the applicant.”
Hontiveros also said Wang had multiple taxpayer identification numbers (TINs), some of which have been cancelled or used inconsistently across different organisations, including JuanCare and Avia International Club.
See also: Philippine LCEs ordered to intensify inspections to phase out offshore gaming operators
