US interested in $81-M money laundering case

MANILA, Philippines - The United States is also investigating the laundering in Manila of $81 million in Bangladeshi funds stolen from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Ambassador Philip Goldberg said yesterday.

The money found its way to the Jupiter Street branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. before ending up in casinos in Manila. Chinese hackers reportedly carried out the heist.

“Because the Federal Reserve Bank in New York had some involvement, we too are looking and our law enforcement people, but I don’t want to get into details about the ongoing investigation,” Goldberg said in a chance interview after attending the American Chamber of Commerce Inc. general membership luncheon meeting at The Peninsula Manila.

Asked if representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are already in Manila, Goldberg said US investigators are working closely with their Philippine counterparts in the law enforcement community. The Bangladeshi government has requested the FBI’s help in investigating the heist.

“As I said, I don’t want to comment on an ongoing investigation, but clearly there’s an interest from the US law enforcement side as well. We work very closely with our colleagues, our counterparts here in the law enforcement community and of course we have an interest in it,” he added.

In a separate interview, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said the embassy in Washington has not made any request for help from the US in the ongoing money laundering investigation.

“No. Not that I know of. Nothing has been coursed through us. It has to be the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) that will initiate and if they do that they will probably inform us because they will probably ask the US Treasury to assist,” Cuisia, who was also at the AmCham meet, said.

Cuisia, former BSP governor, said he was not aware if the FBI has sent representatives to Manila for the investigation.

Speaking at the AmCham meeting, Cuisia said the money laundering controversy has put the Philippines “in a very negative” light.

“I think it is incumbent upon our authority, the central bank, to conclude the investigation as quickly as possible so all the facts can be presented to the public,” he said.

China to cooperate?

China is likely to help track down alleged Chinese hackers responsible for diverting the $81 million to RCBC if requested, a senior lawmaker said yesterday.

“We do not see the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea getting in the way of the Philippines and China cooperating closely on other issues, especially money laundering,” House deputy minority leader Arnel Ty said.

“The Chinese government itself has been cracking down on VIP gaming promoters in Macau, so our sense is Beijing is prepared to help locate the two alleged Chinese hackers and two Chinese junket operators, should the Philippines, and possibly Bangladesh, seek assistance,” he said.

Ty was commenting on Sen. Serge Osmeña III’s statement that Chinese nationals Gao Shuhua and Ding Zhize – who are being sought by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee for questioning with regard to the laundering of the stolen funds – are no longer in the Philippines and had returned to China.

“We don’t know if the government of China will cooperate. This may be a problem. We don’t have nice relations with China at this time,” Osmeña said.

For his part, Sen. Ralph Recto said Beijing should help hunt down the alleged Chinese hackers.

It is not clear if Bangladesh or the United States has sought Beijing’s help. Initial reports on the $81-million heist identified the hackers as Chinese.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched its own investigation into the loss of the $81 million.

A total of $951 million was to be transferred to RCBC, but banking authorities in New York stopped the remittance of $870 million when they became suspicious.

Shared interest

Ty said he believes China would go out of its way to help, if requested, judging from Beijing’s launching its own clampdown on casino junket operators who have been coaxing wealthy Chinese citizens in other parts of China into gambling lavishly in Macau.

“In a way, the Philippines and China have a shared interest in this case. There is mutual interest at stake here,” he said.

Junket operators are those who recruit rich gamblers to pay in casinos, usually abroad.

In last Tuesday’s Senate hearing, long-time Philippine resident and junket operator Kim Wong said Gao and Ding promoted VIP gaming in Macau, but apparently decided to move to Manila when business in the world’s gaming capital started to decline.

Besides organizing gambling parties in Macau for Chinese “whales” or high rollers, Wong said Gao in particular also wagered heavily on his own in Macau and more recently, in Manila, causing him to be heavily indebted to Wong.

Wong has admitted helping Gao open Philippine bank accounts that received the $81 million in stolen Bangladeshi funds.

He said he agreed to help Gao after getting assurance from the latter that he had money coming in from abroad.

Worried about potential corruption, money laundering and capital flight, Beijing has been restricting VIP gaming agents that have been luring Chinese high rollers to Macau, the only Chinese territory where gambling is permitted.

As a result of the Chinese government’s crackdown, the combined gambling revenues generated by the 36 casinos in Macau plunged 34.3 percent from $44.16 billion in 2014 to $28.33 billion in 2015 – the lowest level since 2010, Ty said.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile said there was apparently a conspiracy in the opening of five bank accounts in RCBC where the $81 million was deposited before ending up in casinos.

He said the accounts had been idle for almost a year when dollar funds suddenly began pouring in “like rain,” only to be hastily withdrawn.

“That can’t be done without preparation, without planning,” he said in Filipino.  – With Christina Mendez