Bangladesh asks Philippines to reopen money laundering probe

NINGXIA – The Bangladesh government is appealing to the Philippine Senate to reopen the investigation on the money laundering scandal that involved some $81 million in funds stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In an interview with The STAR on Friday on the sidelines of a signing ceremony here, Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes said his government is hoping the investigation would resume under the leadership of the new Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

“Senator Pimentel told me the money belongs to Bangladesh so I hope the hearings will continue,” said Gomes, who is part of a visiting delegation here of journalists and diplomats on the occasion of the signing of a friendship agreement between the provincial government of Palawan and China’s Ningxia Autonomous Region.

This developed as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to “take all appropriate steps in support of Bangladesh Bank’s efforts to recover and return its stolen assets,” according to a Reuters report.

Last May, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, then chaired by senator Teofisto Guingona III, wrapped up an investigation into the money laundering scandal which broke out in February.

Gomes hopes the Senate would resume its hearings once a new chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is named.

He believes a resumption of the Senate hearing could help the Bangladesh government recover the rest of the money.

The Bangladesh government expects to get $15 million of the stolen $81 million by Aug. 15.

Gomes said there is only one remaining document needed before the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) can turn over the $15 million to the Bangladesh government. The $15 million represents the money turned over by junket operator Kim Wong to the AMLC.

“The document will come from the Bangladesh government as a claimant and then the money will go back to our account in the Federal Reserve. We hope to do this in the next two weeks, so that will be by Aug. 15,” Gomes explained.

While his government is unlikely to recover the full amount of $81 million, Gomes said they are working with the Duterte administration for the recovery of a sizeable portion of the stolen funds – or at least $34.5 million.

“I don’t think we can get the whole $81 million but we hope to get the $17 million from Philrem,” Gomes said, referring to the money remittance firm involved in the transfer of funds.

“We definitely need help (from the Duterte government),” he added.

Aside from the $15 million, his government also hopes to recover the $2.5 million that is now in the custody of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor), the state-owned gaming regulator; and another $17 million from Philrem.

New York Fed’s general counsel Thomas Baxter has sent a letter to Elmore Capule, BSP general counsel, to hasten the recovery process, Reuters said in its report.

Baxter also wrote that the payment instructions that led to four money transfers to beneficiary accounts at the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) were authenticated using a “commercially reasonable security procedure,” but that they were issued by persons using stolen credentials, the report also said.

It was last February when $81 million in money found its way to the Philippines through RCBC’s Jupiter Branch and then later laundered to the country’s casinos.

The funds went to Solaire Resort and Casino and to Eastern Hawaii Casino and Resort. Authorities are still investigating where the rest of the $81 million went.

The AMLC implements the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Law. It is headed by the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and is composed of the SEC chairperson and the head of the Insurance Commission.