SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) shut down an alleged online scam hub inside Subic Bay Freeport zone on Thursday, Oct. 22 and secured around 200 Vietnamese nationals found working at the facility.

NBI agents seized computers, mobile phones and documents believed to have been used in the operation during the search conducted by the NBI-Pampanga District Office (PAMDO).

The operation was carried out under a Warrant to Search, Seize and Examine Computer Data issued by Regional Trial Court Branch 73 in Olongapo City. It followed a month of surveillance and intelligence gathering, the NBI said.

Evidence recovered at the site indicated that the facility operated around the clock, with workers assigned to shifts and a dedicated payments desk handling deposits and withdrawals through a network of bank accounts and electronic wallets.

Staff schedules also showed that teams were assigned to targets in the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates and Bangladesh, according to the bureau.

NBI Director Melvin A. Matibag said the agency would investigate the financial transactions linked to the operation, including bank accounts and e-wallets allegedly used to move funds.

The bureau is coordinating with the Anti-Money Laundering Council and financial institutions to identify and freeze accounts connected to the operation.

Meanwhile, the NBI is screening the approximately 200 Vietnamese nationals to determine whether any were victims of human trafficking.

Those found to have been recruited through deception or held against their will will be treated as trafficking victims under Republic Act 9208, as amended, the NBI said.

The bureau is coordinating with the Bureau of Immigration, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and the Vietnamese Embassy on the workers’ welfare, documentation and possible repatriation.

The NBI is also preparing complaints against individuals suspected of organizing, managing and financing the operation for possible violations of the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act, Cybercrime Prevention Act, Anti-Money Laundering Act and Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. (Ang Pahayagan Reportorial Team)

(Photos courtesy of the NBI)