Conflicting statements muddle $81-million dirty money trail

Conflicting statements during a Senate hearing on Tuesday failed to shed light on how $81 million that was stolen from Bangladesh's central bank ended up in Philippine casinos.

The hearing opened under a cloud of suspicion after a lawyer denied authenticating the sworn statement of Mark Palmares, a courier of foreign exchange broker Philrem, who detailed how he delivered a portion of the money to Solaire casino.

Philrem owners Michael Bautista and Salud Bautista, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) branch manager Maia Deguito and casino junket operator Kim Wong later gave contradicting accounts to senators.

Unidentified hackers breached the Bangladesh central bank's account with the Federal Reserve in February and wired $81 million to RCBC. The money passed through Philrem before ending up in several casinos.

Senator Bam Aquino asked the Bautista couple, Deguito and Wong if they were willing to open their phone call logs to verify their testimonies. All four agreed.

Wong alleged that he received instructions by phone from Michael Bautista, asking him to pick up money from his house.

"Nagkausap kami sa phone at sabi niya may ganitong pera, at kunin na daw sa bahay," said Wong.

Bautista, however, said he never spoke to Wong on the phone.

Salud Bautista, on the other hand, claimed it was Deguito who instructed her to transfer money to Wong. Deguito denied the allegation.

"Wala akong instructions about cash deliveries, I would like to believe na derecho na sila [Wong and Philrem] nag-uusap. Ang instruction lang sa akin was to credit everything to Philrem," she said.

Of the $81 million, $62 million was converted into pesos and transferred to casinos while the remaining $18 million was delivered to another casino agent, Weikang Xu, whose whereabouts are unknown, according to Salud Bautista.

Bangladeshi authorities said Monday they were investigating 12 Filipinos for alleged involvement in the heist.

The daring caper exposed loopholes in Philippine anti-money laundering and banking laws that make the country a dirty money destination.

Casinos are exempt from scrutiny by the Anti-Money Laundering Council under present laws.

Also during the hearing, Deguito said admitted she lied to RCBC in her reply to a memorandum asking her to explain the questionable deposits.

Degutio said it was Wong, not a certain Jessie Christopher Lagrosas as she had told RCBC, who asked her to transfer the stolen money to the account of businessman William Go.

"During that time that I answered the show cause I wasn't ready to reveal the personalities behind those referred accounts," said.

When asked by Senator Serge Osmeña III if she lied in her response to the RCBC show cause order, Deguito said, "If you will consider that lying, yes, I would acknowledge."

RCBC has filed criminal charges against Deguito and former RCBC Jupiter branch staff Angela Torres for allegedly opening the accounts that received the money under fictitious names.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Senate digs deeper into $81-M laundering heist

MANILA - Sacked bank manager Maia-Santos Deguito, junket operator Kim Wong and representatives of PhilRem Services Corp. - all key personalities tagged in an $81-million laundering heist - are expected to face off at a Senate hearing Tuesday.

Speaking to radio dzMM, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto said this will be the first time that the three parties will all be present during the Senate investigation on how stolen funds from the Bangladesh Bank reached Philippine banks and casinos.

"Maganda itong pagdinig na ito dahil maghaharap-harap sila mamaya," Recto predicted.

The three parties earlier presented conflicting accounts of their alleged involvement in one of the world's biggest cyber heist.

At the third Senate hearing last Tuesday, Wong said that Deguito and foreign nationals Gao Shuhua and Ding Zhize were responsible for bringing in the "dirty money" into the Philippines.



He also claimed that Deguito alone approved the documents for the RCBC dollar accounts opened in May 2015, which received the stolen funds from the Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.

Wong added that he only referred one foreigner - Gao - to Deguito, contrary to her earlier claim that she met the owners of the four dollar accounts at Solaire casino through Wong's referral.

The junket operator also said that Deguito delivered at least P20 million in cash to him at the Solaire hotel on February 5. Another P80 million, he said, was delivered to him by Philrem's Concon Bautista on the same day.

This runs counter to the statement of former RCBC Jupiter-Makati branch senior customer relationship officer Angela Torres who said that the P20 million was loaded into the car of another businessman, William Go.

Philrem president Salud Bautista also opposed Wong, saying that the money was received by Weikang Xu, who has been described as a "registered" junket agent in the gaming business.


 The Bautistas also denied Wong's claim that they still hold an estimated $17 million from the illegal funds.

In the interview, Recto said the Senate will trace the real connections of the names tagged in the scandal.

"We want to dig deeper. Ano ba iyung relationship? Kasi lahat sila magkaka-kilala, kung tutuusin natin," he said.

The Senate has invited Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares to today's hearing to shed light on the tax compliance of the involved parties.

Recto added that the hearing will also attempt once again to trace the remainder of the stolen funds that could be returned to Bangladesh.

The fourth hearing will also tackle the scam's toll on overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as Philippine banks face tighter scrutiny from their foreign counterparts.

 Watch the livestream of the hearing at: www.livestream.com/anctelevision.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kim Wong tags 2 foreigners in $81-M heist

MANILA - Casino junket operator Kim Wong on Tuesday washed his hands of the $81-million laundering heist and instead blamed dismissed Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito and two foreigners.

Speaking before the Senate, Wong said one of the two foreigners was a junket operator and a "high-roller" in the casino industry.

“Dalawang foreigners ang nagpasok ng $81 million. Isa sa kanila ay matagal ng labas-pasok sa Pilipinas at kilalang junket agent at isang high roller,” he said.

Wong said he had prepared for the Senate a sealed envelope containing copies of the passports of the two foreigners.

Senators prodded him to open the envelope and disclose the names of the two foreigners. Wong later identified the two as Gao Shuhua from Beijing and Ding Zhize from Macau, China.

Wong said Gao had been his "junket agent" since 2007. He also said Gao once lost P450 million during a week of gambling in Solaire.

He also claimed that Deguito alone approved the documents for the RCBC dollar accounts opened in May 2015, which received the stolen funds from the Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.

Wong added that he only referred one foreigner - Gao - to Deguito, contrary to her earlier claim that she met the owners of the four dollar accounts at Solaire casino through Wong's referral.

Wong said he met Deguito and Gao at his office in Solaire in 2015 to open the dollar account.

During their meeting, Wong claimed that Deguito suggested a corporate account and that she needed the names of 5 people to open the account. He also claimed that Deguito asked for $2,500 to open the accounts, which Gao approved.

DAY OF HEIST

In his testimony, Wong claimed that he received a message from Gao on February 4, 2016 about his plan to invest in the Philippines.

He said Gao wanted to close his souring casino business in Macau and invest instead in casino junkets in Manila.

The next day, Wong said he received instructions from Gao and Ding that they would be getting a huge amount of money in the dollar accounts in Deguito's branch. When Wong initially checked with Deguito, however, the money had not come in.

Deguito then called several times to say that several dollar deposits - $6 million, $25 million, $30 million and $20 million - had come in.

This jibes with the account of Sen. Teofisto Guingona III that a total of 35 payment instructions came out allowing the transfer of funds from the Bangladesh Bank account in the New York Federal Reserve. Only five payment instructions, however, were allowed before the transactions were stopped.

$850-M could have entered RCBC: Senate

Wong said of the $81 million stolen funds, an estimated $63 million went to Solaire while an estimated $17 million went to Philrem.

Wong said at least 80 million pesos in cash were then delivered by Philrem's Concon Bautista and another 20 million pesos in cash by Deguito on the same day, February 5.

Philrem president Salud Bautista, however, said she personally delivered 80 million pesos, and not 90 million pesos, to Solaire. She said the money was received by Weikang Xu, who has been described as a "registered" junket agent in the gaming business.

WONG PICKED UP MONEY AT BAUTISTA'S HOUSE

During the hearing, Wong showed a photo of Deguito's car being serviced by the valet at Solaire at 7:57 p.m. on February 5.

He also showed a photo of the 100 million pesos being deposited at Solaire at 8:07 p.m. Wong said he took the photo himself.

After the transaction, Wong claimed he had dinner with Deguito and Concon Bautista at a Korean restaurant inside Solaire.

He said he also picked up a total of 300 million pesos and $5 million in cash from Bautista's house on February 9, February 10, and February 14.

The 300 million pesos went to a junket agent in Solaire, Wong said.

He said Gao and Ding wanted the $5 million to themselves, which he said was not part of the deal.

"Ang gentlemen's agreement, walang kukuning cash. Wala sa rules eh. So kaya natira ang $4.63 million dahil nag-aaway na kami. Ang kinuha nila $370,000. Nagagalit na ako kasi wala sa usapan na kukuha ng cash. Kasi itong negosyo namin usapan lang eh, tiwala lang. Sabi ko, 'Niloloko niyo na ako,'" he said.

Wong claimed the $4.63 million was still in safekeeping at Solaire and that he is willing to return the money to the Bangladesh Bank.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Key figure in money-laundering case can't attend Senate probe

MANILA - Kam Sin Wong, also known as Kim Wong, will not be able to attend the Senate hearing on the $81-million money laundering case involving Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC), his lawyer said Monday.

In a letter sent to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Victor Fernandez, Wong's counsel, said the latter is currently out of the country for medical treatment.

Fernandez said Wong left the country March 4, 2016, supposedly before the "instant controversy" broke out.

(The Philippine Daily Inquirer first reported about an alleged $100-million money-laundering on February 29, 2016, and it was reported on March 3 that the the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) had frozen the suspected accounts used in the transaction. Wong left the following day. -- Ed's note.)

He likewise asked the Senate to keep his client's medical records private, assuring them that Wong will cooperate once he is done with his medical treatment.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, RCBC Jupiter branch manager Maia Santos Deguito said Wong, who owns one of six bank accounts allegedly used in moving millions of dollars stolen by unknown hackers from the Bank of Bangladesh and laundered in casinos in Parañaque City, is a friend of RCBC president and CEO Lorenzo Tan.

Deguito said Kim Wong referred to her four persons who opened on May 2015 the other bank accounts linked to the scam: Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez.

Manager tags RCBC president's 'friend' in laundering scandal

Tan and Deguito are expected to attend the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee and the congressional oversight committee about the controversy on Tuesday afternoon.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com