Wong returns $4.63m of BB money

Philippine casino businessman Kim Wong on Wednesday returned $4.63 million of the Bangladesh Bank’s stolen money to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) office at the Philippines central bank headquarters in Manila.
A lawyer of Wong, who was considered the mastermind of the laundering of $81 million stolen fund of BB, handed over $4.63 million to AMLC Executive Director Julia Bacay-Abad at the AMLC office at the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
This could be considered the first tranche of what Senator Ralph Recto said is an estimated $34 million of $81 million stolen from the Bank of Bangladesh’s reserves in the US Federal Reserve Bank that could still be recovered, said a report of Manila Bulletin.
Each bundle of notes was counted and validated inside the AMLC office and witnessed by Bangladesh ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes and second secretary Probash Lamarong, reported rappler.com.
Insurance Commission chief Emmanuel Dooc and other BSP officials also witnessed the turn over of the amount. The counting and validation took more than two-and-a-half hours, using several counting machines, said Inocencio Ferrer, Wong’s legal counsel.
According to Ferrer, it was impossible and would likely take several days to finish counting the amount manually.
The counting started at 3:30 pm and ended at 6:00 pm. Ferrer added the amount was in $100 denominations and in 46 bundles of $1,000.
The surrendered amount was loaded into an armoured vehicle of the BSP and transported to the BSP vault.
Wong, in the Senate hearing on Tuesday vehemently denied knowledge of the money-laundering scheme but admitted around $15 had remained in his possession.
At the marathon parliament hearing he claimed that a high-roller from Beijing, Ding Zhize and another from Macau, Gao Shuhua shifted the $81 million to dollar accounts in Manila’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC).
Wong claimed he did not know the money was stolen from Bangladesh and that he merely helped the two men — who are also his casino clients — open bank accounts.
He offered to return $4.6 million, which he said remained in his account in Solaire, one of the Philippine capital’s gleaming billion-dollar casinos.
His company Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company Limited got hold of one billion peso or $21.575 million of the stolen funds from Ding and Gao.
Of the P1 billion, Wong took P450 million ($9.71 million) as Gao’s debt payment, while P550 million went through the gaming tables. He said P510 million of P550 million was lost to Midas Hotel and Casino.
During the hearing, Wong said he is willing turn over some $4.63 million (P40 million) left under the junket operations.
He said that he would also return $9.71 million if he was compelled by the authorities.
Wong claimed that around $17 million of the BB money still remained with the Philrem, the money exchange firm that handled $81 million of the BB money. Philrem denied that it had any money in its possession.
Earlier Thursday, Filipino Senator Ralph Recto said as much as $34 million, which included money in Wong’s and Philrem’s possession, could be recovered.
‘Our law enforcement agencies must act swiftly to recover any portion of the loot that is still within Philippine soil,’ Recto said while speaking to a radio station.
The Senate blue ribbon committee will conduct its fourth hearing on the Bangladesh Bank fund heist on Tuesday, April 5.
Chinese-Filipino businessman William Go, meanwhile, on Thursday filed more charges against Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito and former senior customer relations officer Angela Torres.
Go filed charges against Deguito and Torres before the Makati Prosecutor’s Office for falsification of private documents used in opening accounts, under his name, which were used for transferring the BB money.
Go said the charges are based on findings by RCBC that his signatures were forged in documents used to open a bank account.
Speaking to ANC’s Headstart before filing the complaint, Go said he wants to see Deguito in jail after he was linked to the $81- million money laundering scheme and his accounts got frozen.
Go earlier filed criminal charges against the two bank officials after they claimed the businessman received P20 million in cash withdrawn from Go’s account last February 5.
He said an independent report of Truth Verifier Systems, Inc. confirmed that his signatures in the withdrawal slip for the P20 million are forgeries.
During the Headstart interview, Go said he is also mulling filing charges against RCBC for its “vicarious liability” in the $81-million money laundering scandal he has been tagged in.
‘There is basis to say that there was negligence on the part of RCBC in the selection of their branch manager and officers—in this case, Ms Deguito—and on the basis of what we call vicarious liability,’ Esguerra said.
He said they are in the final stage of reviewing the draft before filing civil charges against the bank.
Meanwhile, Go admitted to having known Kim Wong many years ago through common friends but that they have not communicated for a long time. He also dismissed talk that he is being ‘controlled’ by Wong.
Go, however, said he is hopeful that Wong’s testimony in last Tuesday’s Senate hearing will prove his innocence from the laundering allegations and be instrumental in having the freeze order on his accounts lifted.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.com