AML compliance officer among those charged
Three executives of Philrem Service Corp. have been implicated in an international money laundering case that have made headlines over the past few months. In February, some $81 million dollars in hacked funds were withdrawn from the Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. They made their way to four bogus accounts at the Rizal Commercial Bank branch in Manila, and then ended up in a fifth account. A William Go used Philrem’s services to withdraw $80.9 million, convert it to pesos and then pass it through casinos in Manila.
Now, according to the Inquirer News, the Department of Justice has filed complaints against Philrem President Salud Bautista, her husband Michael, and Anthony Pelejo, the company’s board chairman and treasurer—who is also the firm’s anti-money laundering compliance officer.
The AMLC says the Bautistas knew the funds were not legitimate and did not keep a record of customer information. “Had they done so, respondent spouses would have personally interviewed the real William Go and discovered that the latter was not aware” of an account under his name, the complaint said.
Of more than $80 million in stolen funds, $63 million was processed in the Midas Hotel and Casino in Manila and Solaire Resort and Casino in Entertainment City; the money was reportedly exchanged for gaming chips in the casinos. Neither of the gaming halls have been implicated in the illegal transfers.
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.”
