MANILA, Philippines – A former bank officer was arrested Friday for allegedly embezzling around P40 million from depositors over several years.
Editha Bucayu, 41, was apprehended at her home in Sta. Rita, Guiguinto, Bulacan by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation Anti-Fraud and Action Division (NBI-AFAD).
Bucayu was served an arrest warrant issued by the Malolos, Bulacan Regional Trial Court Branch 82 for seven counts of qualified theft, said NBI-AFAD chief Czar Eric Nuqui.
He said Bucayu, then the assistant branch manager, conspired with the branch manager and another bank officer, both of whom he declined to name.
“They were able to falsify documents, which enabled them to withdraw millions of pesos from the accounts of their depositors,” he said, adding that they also forged depositors’ signatures.
“They were in a position of trust and confidence being officers of the bank and they have access to this huge fund that enabled them to eventually embezzle it through falsification of commercial documents.”
Over the years
Nuqui said that the embezzlement started in 2010.
The crime was discovered during the audit of the bank’s main office in 2014, which led to the filing of a formal complaint and the issuance of arrest warrants in October last year.
He added that the money was covered by insurance, so the bank’s main management had to reimburse the stolen money.
The STAR also learned that the bank’s main office filed charges against the three former bank officers in Bulacan, Ilocos Sur and Abra.
In its case before the Bulacan court, Bucayu and a female former bank officer were charged for embezzling over P9.43 million.
A male former bank officer faces two charges for embezzling over P10 million in Ilocos Sur and over P9.66 million in Abra.
As of this time, the two other former bank officers have yet to be arrested.
No idea
Bucayu insisted she was innocent and that she has no idea what happened. “Nadamay talaga ako, wala talaga ako sa plano (I was implicated, I was not involved in the plan),” she said.
She said she left the country during the bank audit in 2014 for a job abroad.
Bucayu said her name was dragged into the case because in her former post, she had to affix her signature for approving bank transactions.
Asked how she knew about the case since she was abroad, she said she learned about it when debt-related issues surfaced about the bank.
She said she has filed a motion to reconsider the investigation of her case and hopes to be able to post bail.