Officers liable for sanction
Any Philippine bank that broke the laws in a multimillion-dollar money laundering scandal may be penalized, says the head of the country’s central bank.
“If there really is a serious violation of rules, the bank can be punished,” Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla told Bloomberg News. “They can be made to pay fines or made to stop or reduce certain businesses. People from board of directors to branch managers can also be sanctioned.”
A Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch in Manila, where the millions were deposited before making their way through the local casino industry, is prepared to repay some of the money if ordered to do so by the government. An RCBC branch manager allegedly opened four bank accounts under fictitious names. But the bank would not likely make good on the total amount, according to reports. RCBC CEO Lorenzo Tan said if the company failed to exercise due diligence in the matter, he would “recommend to the board to set aside certain money” to compensate for the losses.
Meanwhile, junket operator Kam Sin Wong, who has been implicated in the case, has returned PHP200 million (US$4.3 million) to the Philippine Anti-Money Laundering Council, reports GGRAsia. On April 18, Wong offered up the money for “safekeeping,” AMLC Executive Director Julia Bacay-Abad told a Senate hearing on the matter. Also known as Kim Wong, the junket operator has also been identified as an executive with Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co. Ltd., a casino operator in the northern Philippines.
Wong has also offered to hand over nearly $10 million he says he received from one of two other men implicated in the matter, both of them Chinese junket agents. He has claimed that an additional $17 million remains in the hands of local remittance firm Philrem Services Inc., but Philrem President Salud Bautista has denied the accusations.
According to the council, of the $81 million in stolen funds, $63 million was processed in the Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino in Entertainment City, Manila; the money was reportedly exchanged for gaming chips in the casinos. Neither of the gaming halls have been implicated in the illegal transfers.
As the investigation continues, authorities in Bangladesh say they have identified “at least 20 people from multiple foreign countries” who may be connected to the theft. According to CalvinAyre.com, the suspects are said to include “Filipino, Sri Lankan and Chinese nationals.”
John Gomes, Bangladesh’s ambassador to the Philippines, has publicly stated that the hacker was “not Filipino or Bangladeshi.” Gomes added that a “certain track record” suggested that person was from another country, reported the website.
