A government agency’s Philippines visit to court gaming operators sparked outcry given these outfits had been banned there over allegations of money laundering.

However, a Freedom of Information request relating to Digital IoM’s trip to Manila has revealed laundering of quite a different kind.

The FoI response shows that one of those on the trip claimed expenses for a hotel laundry bill which included cleaning his suit, shirts, trousers, sweater, socks and eight pairs of underpants.

Digital IoM, a Department of Enterprise agency set up to support the island’s tech sector, said October’s visit by its chief executive and a member of the strategic partnership team had to be extended by three days due to a typhoon. It said the business expenses claimed were reasonable in light of the extended stay.

The budget earmarked for the 10-day trip was £15,000 but total expenditure came in at just under £8,000.

The aim of the journey was to investigate whether it was a viable option to encourage Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to relocate to the Isle of Man.

These operators had been banned this year by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr over alleged links to criminality.

Mr Marcos said in his address: ‘Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.’

Following the visit, Digital IoM’s mission to attract POGOs was put on hold while the agency considers ‘outputs, feedback and broader risks’.

The FoI request submitted to the Department for Enterprise asked for copies of all expense receipts from the trip and minutes of the meetings held.

They show that the two from the DfE’s digital agency paid a total of £2,266 for their Qatar Airways flights from Manchester to Manila, via Qatar.

One paid 137,652 Philippine pesos (£1,853) for his room at the New World Makati Hotel in Makati City, while his colleague paid 96,744 pesos (£1,302).

There are expense claims for meals at the hotel and at a sushi bar where a client meeting was held.

And the member of the strategic partnership team also claimed for his laundry bill at the New World Makati Hotel.

The receipt shows he was charged 7,929 Philippine pesos (£107) to have his two-piece suit cleaned, along with a polo shirt, three pairs of trousers/slacks, jeans, a sweater, two shirts, five pairs of socks and eight pairs of undershirt/underpants. He paid a further 620 peso (£8.40) to have his jacket cleaned.

A spokesperson for Digital IoM said: ‘The trip to Manila was extended due to adverse weather conditions caused by a typhoon, in order to ensure relevant meetings could be held safely.

‘Consequently, additional expenses were incurred for the extended stay. Digital Isle of Man is confident these were reasonable business expenses in light of the required extension and were claimed in line with standard policy.

‘Digital Isle of Man are committed to managing travel costs appropriately, ensuring the safety of officers and maintaining proper controls on public spending. Although the budget for the trip was £15,000 and the trip required an extension, the total expenditure for the trip to Manila was just under £8,000.’

The FoI response also reveals that no minutes were recorded of the meetings attended.

A schedule of the meetings held has been published.

It includes a meeting at the Blackbird restaurant with POGO operator Jade Entertainment, who the agency is described as having an ‘existing relationship’ with.

Attendees at that meeting included Jade Entertainment’s CEO, and the vice president of global operations for the Amused Group.

There was a meeting held the following day with two founding partners of start-up software company the Ionic Group.

The schedule of meetings for Amused and Ionic notes the aim was to ‘understand impact to business, where are they moving to, understand whether the IoM is a viable option, and establish connection to other businesses impacted’.

Minutes of the agency’s October board meeting ahead of the Manila trip show that the £15,000 funding had been reallocated from a planned March visit to a conference in the Philippine capital.

The FoI request also sought a copy of the register of interests for each of the DfE boards.

But the department said this information is not held. It noted that while it collects information in relation to board members’ interests, ‘this is only where a potential conflict of interest may exist - if there is no potential conflict then an interest will not be recorded’.

A post trip report on the Manila trip is to be added to the FoI response.