As the Philippines grapples with a corruption scandal over flood control projects that sparked protests across the country last month, the ramifications of the saga are being felt from as far away as Norway.
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After a Filipino television personality and broadcaster shared on social media that a family member in Norway was turned away at an airport foreign exchange over concerns her country had “money-laundering issues”, many others claimed to have had similar experiences.
Analysts, meanwhile, warn that if Manila fails to act swiftly on the corruption scandal, the situation could spiral to the point that the Philippines may run out of money from stock exchange losses and foreign investment pull-outs.
In a social media post on Tuesday, Gretchen Ho shared that a female staffer at the currency exchange counter at Oslo Airport Gardermoen told her relative: “You’re from the Philippines? We can’t exchange your dollars due to corruption and money laundering issues in the Philippines.”
“This family member told me they were asked to exchange their money elsewhere but not at the airport. My family member was just trying to exchange US$300. Terrible. What are we going to do about this, Philippines?” she wrote.
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