RCBC chief to take steps to return Bangladesh funds

MANILA - Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Lorenzo Tan on Tuesday promised to urge the bank's board members to return part of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh if they are found liable in laundering the fund.

At a hearing led by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committtee, Tan first admitted that RCBC's market value has fallen after four local banks in their Jupiter branch received the stolen money last February 5.

Senator Ralph Recto suggested that RCBC's market position could be improved if it pledges to return some $50 million out of the total funds.

"Assuming that the RCBC gives this to the Bank of Bangladesh, your P5 billion profit minus P2.2 billion ($50 million), kita pa rin kayo ng P3 billion," Recto said.

"Maybe your market price will improve to what it used to be and you would gain from that anyway. Maybe your stock price will hit whatever value and you make the protocol corrections."

In reply, Tan conceded that, "Our business is an actuarial business... We either lose money on bad loans, bad trades or operational losses like this one."

He added that on the average, RCBS provisions P1 billion to P2 billion every year on losses from bad transactions like those involving the Bangladesh funds.

Given this, he promised: "If we're found liable, I would recommed to the board to set aside a certain amount of money."

- ABS-CBN News Channel, 12 April 2015

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