Alleged Binay dummy files raps vs AMLC chief

MANILA, Philippines – The head of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is facing criminal charges for tagging businessman Antonio Tiu as the “dummy” of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Tiu filed perjury charges against AMLC executive director Julia Bacay-Abad before the Department of Justice last Friday for peddling false information to obtain an order from the Court of Appeals (CA) to freeze his bank accounts.

Tiu also accused Abad of maliciously and falsely implicating him to the alleged money laundering scheme of Binay, the presidential candidate of the opposition.

“Despite my legitimate business, I was maliciously and falsely implicated in a supposed unlawful scheme of laundering money and it was made to appear that there are financial transactions involving myself or my companies, which had purportedly no underlying legal or trade obligations, purpose or economic justification,” Tiu said.

AMLC filed an ex parte petition before the CA on May 7, 2015 seeking to freeze Tiu’s bank accounts, investments and insurance policies together with other respondents.

Tiu owns 30 of the 242 bank accounts ordered frozen by the CA in reaction to a petition filed by the AMLC.

To date, about half of those 30 accounts remain frozen and are subject of a civil forfeiture case even though there are no pending criminal cases filed or pending against Tiu and his companies, Tiu’s lawyers said.

Tiu, who was awarded in 2011 as one of the “Ten Outstanding Young Men” by President Aquino and “Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst & Young in 2009, was dragged into the alleged money laundering scandal in October 2014.

Tiu stated in his 11-page complaint affidavit that Abad linked him to the money laundering case against Binay for purchasing $20.46 million in foreign exchange with Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Forex Brokers Corp. under Transaction Reference No. 34 dated Dec. 10, 2008.

RCBC Forex Brokers vice president Criselda Espinosa verbally admitted that Tiu did not make such purchase of foreign currency.

“In fact, she (Espinosa) confirmed that there was no such transaction made by me or any of my companies,” Tiu said.

Tiu also belied Abad’s allegation that he is Binay’s dummy because of the large amounts and frequency of transactions involving several bank accounts under his name at a time his businesses were supposedly suffering losses or poor profits.