Gretchen Ho's Relative Was Allegedly Denied Money Exchange Over "Corruption" in the Philippines

A family member of broadcaster Gretchen Ho was reportedly denied a money exchange service at Oslo’s Gardermoen Airport in Norway after a staff member allegedly cited “corruption and money laundering in the Philippines” as the reason.

In a Facebook post on October 7, Gretchen wrote that her relative, who was traveling with friends, tried to exchange USD 300 at a foreign exchange counter at the airport but was refused service after the staff learned they had come from the Philippines.

“Lady at the counter goes—‘You came from the Philippines? We cannot exchange your dollars because of the corruption and money laundering in the Philippines,’” Gretchen wrote.

According to her post, the teller told her family member to exchange their money elsewhere but not at the airport. Gretchen described the incident as “terrible” and said she had filed a report with the Philippine Ambassador to Norway.

In a follow-up update, Gretchen said the ambassador called her after she submitted the report and was “surprised” by what had happened. She added that he would be meeting with Norway’s foreign ministry to discuss the issue.

“As far as he knows, these incidents shouldn’t be happening,” Gretchen wrote. “He says he’ll be meeting with the Norwegian foreign ministry to address the issue.”

Gretchen questioned whether the incident reflected an official policy, noting that the Philippines was removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list earlier this year.

The FATF, an intergovernmental body that sets global standards to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, maintains two key lists: a “grey list” for countries under increased monitoring and a “black list” for those facing countermeasures.

The Philippines was placed on the grey list in June 2021 due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering framework, including risks linked to casino junkets and weak prosecution of terrorist financing cases. After nearly four years, the FATF announced on February 21, 2025, that the country had been removed from the list, citing significant improvements in compliance and supervision.

The FATF said the Philippines had “strengthened the effectiveness” of its measures to prevent money laundering and that it would continue to work with the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering to sustain its reforms.

Gretchen said she hoped to gain clarity from authorities on whether the Oslo incident stemmed from an outdated policy or a failure to update front-line institutions about the Philippines’ current status.

“We want to get some clarity on this, if there is a new policy, given recent events, or just a failure to update and disseminate information,” she said. “I believe getting some clarity would help not just our family, but other Filipinos who have shared similar experiences at the same airport in Oslo.”

Officials from the Philippine Embassy in Norway and Norwegian authorities have yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident.