‘Exclude state execs, workers from bank secrecy protection’

MANILA, Philippines – Government officials and employees should be removed from bank secrecy protection to make efforts to uncover ill-gotten wealth easier, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said in filing a bill seeking to amend the Bank Secrecy Act.

Lacson’s Senate Bill 47 effectively removes from all public servants – from the president down to the lowest ranking employee – the “protection” afforded by Republic Act 1405, which prohibits disclosure or inquiry into bank deposits.

“The avowed purpose of the law (Bank Secrecy Act) is meritorious in preserving the confidentiality of bank transactions. Unfortunately, this provision of the law prohibiting the disclosure of or inquiry into bank deposits had been exploited time and again to hamper and stall investigations of government officials and employees suspected of enriching themselves while in public office,” Lacson said.

By excluding government officials and employees, whether elected or appointed, from the coverage of the Bank Secrecy Law, he said “law enforcement authorities will be equipped with the tools needed to go after crooks in government.”

The present law, passed in 1955, covers “all deposits of whatever nature with banks or banking institutions in the Philippines.”

Exceptions to this include the written permission of the depositor, cases of impeachment or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject of litigation.

At the House of Representatives, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has also filed a bill proposing the inclusion of casinos in the coverage of Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Law (AMLA).

His proposal is contained in Bill 14, whose enactment he said would strengthen President Duterte’s anti-corruption campaign, including corruption in money laundering.

“We cannot afford a repeat of the 2016 Bangladesh Bank heist, which saw $81 million stolen from the bank’s account, entered the Philippine banking system and made its way to local casinos and junket operators,” he said.

“Attempts to trace and recover the money encountered several setbacks, as casinos are excluded from the coverage of AMLA,” he said.

He said the case of the stolen Bangladeshi funds finding their way to a local bank and ending up in casinos highlights the importance of including gaming establishments in the purview of the law.

Based on an investigation conducted by the Senate, the stolen funds were remitted to four bogus accounts in Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. before their eventual delivery to casino junket operators and two hotel-casinos – Solaire and Midas.

Bangladesh has not recovered its money. Junket operator Kim Wong has surrendered about $15 million and the government has initiated forfeiture proceedings in court so the amount could be turned over to Bangladesh. – With Edu Punay