Inside Asian Gaming

IAG APR 2023年4月 亞博匯 14 PHILIPPINES GAMING REGULATOR PAGCOR has cancelled the contract of Global ComRCI, a third-party auditor hired in 2017 to track the revenues of licensed POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators) and ensure they were paying the appropriate amount of tax. In a statement, PAGCOR revealed it has issued Global ComRCI with a Notice to Terminate the Consultancy Contract and referred the matter to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for the possible filing of administrative, civil and criminal cases against the auditor. It will also “explore all legal remedies available” for the restitution of more than Php800 million (US$14.5 million) out of the partial amount released to Global ComRCI prior to the assumption of the current administration, plus damages. The termination of the contract follows allegations that Global ComRCI produced fraudulent documentation to win the PAGCOR contract. The documentation included an allegedly fake bank certification from the New York branch of Soleil Chartered Bank (SBC) showing the auditor met PAGCOR’s capital requirements. SBC last month said it had never issued any such documentation, that Global ComRCI does not have an account with the bank and that the letterhead used in the bank certificate “is not the letterhead used by SCB New York.” In Thursday’s statement, PAGCOR said it has determined Global ComRCI to be “IN DEFAULT of its obligations and [known by] prima facie evidence to have committed UNLAWFUL ACTS.” 菲律賓博彩監管機構PAGCOR 表示，其已經取消了Global Com- RCI的合同。Global ComRCI是2017 年聘請的第三方審計機構， 負責跟進持牌POGO（菲律賓離岸博彩運營商）的收入，並確保 他們按時繳納稅款。 PAGCOR在一份聲明中透露，其已向Global ComRCI發出 終止諮詢合同的通知，並將此事提交給副檢察長辦公室（OSG） ，以便進一步對審計員提起行政、民事和刑事案件。它還將「探 索所有可用的法律救濟措施」，以恢復在本屆政府上任之前向 Global ComRCI發放的部分金額中的8億多披索(1450萬美元)及 相關損害賠償金。 早前，有人指控Global ComRCI偽造以贏得PAGCOR合 同。 這些文件包括一份據稱來自Soleil Chartered Bank（SBC） 紐約分行的銀行證明，顯示審計員符合PAGCOR的資本要求。 SBC於二月表示，其從未發佈過任何此類文件，Global ComRCI在該行沒有賬戶，銀行證明中使用的抬頭「不是SCB New York使用的抬頭」。 在是次聲明中，PAGCOR表示已確定 Global ComRCI「沒 有履行其義務，及初步證據證明其犯下違法行為」 。 PAGCOR CANCELS CONTRACT OF POGO AUDITING FIRM P A G C O R 吊 銷 POGO審計機構牌照