Philippines recovers stolen $4.63 mln
Almost half the haul could still be salvaged
MANILA, March 31, (Agencies): More than $4.5 million of tens of millions recently stolen from Bangladesh and funnelled into Philippine casinos was recovered Thursday, as a lawmaker in Manila said almost half the haul could still be salvaged.
On Feb 5, unidentified hackers shifted $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank’s account with the US Federal Reserve to a nondescript bank in Manila, and then to the casinos where the trail went cold.
Representatives for casino agent Kim Wong, who is under criminal investigation after a portion of the stolen money was traced to his account, surrendered $4.63 million in cash to the Philippine central bank on Thursday.
“He kept his promise to return the money,” Wong’s lawyer Innocencio Ferrer said in a statement.
Wong testified at a marathon parliament hearing Tuesday that two highrollers from Beijing and Macau shifted the $81 million to dollar accounts in Manila’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC).
Wong said 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.
Return
He offered to return the money, which he said remained in his account in Solaire, one of the Philippine capital’s gleaming billion-dollar casinos.
Earlier Thursday, Filipino Senator Ralph Recto said as much as $34 million — almost half of the sum stolen — could be recovered from two casinos and a foreign exchange brokerage based on testimonies from the hearing.
By Recto’s own calculations, this would include $17 million that Wong claimed was still with exchange brokerage Philrem and $10 million from a destitute casino in the north.
There was also $5.5 million that Wong picked up from the house of Philrem’s owner and a further $2.3 million in the Solaire casino account of the Macau man who allegedly brought the $81 million to the Philippines.
“Our law enforcement agencies must act swiftly to recover any portion of the loot that is still within Philippine soil,” Recto said in a statement.
“It is very important to recover as much of the money and return it to Bangladesh. The money was stolen from a poor country,” he added.
The brazen heist highlighted how the Philippine’s banking loopholes and anti-money laundering laws have made the impoverished and corruption-weary Southeast Asian nation a dirty money destination.
Philippine law exempts casino transactions from scrutiny by the country’s anti-money laundering council without a case filed in court.
The senate is scheduled to resume its investigation next week.
In earlier news, Silverio Benny Tan, corporate secretary of Solaire’s operator, Bloomberry Resorts Corp, told the hearing the casino has frozen 108.67 million pesos ($2.33 million) worth of chips and money in different denominations confiscated from the gamblers when the bank heist issue came to light.
Wong alleged $17 million is still with remittance company Philrem, which the company owners denied during the hearing. Wong said Gao also paid him 450 million pesos ($9.71 million) for a loan that covered Gao’s losses in an earlier gambling spree in the country. He said if compelled to do so, he can also return that money.
Casino operators and government regulators said it may be difficult to account for the rest of the money, which was used at gambling tables. Wong said $370,000 in cash was withdrawn by the casino junket agents in violation of their agreement that all the money would remain in the casino accounts.
The $81 million was remitted to five accounts created with fictitious names at a branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp, consolidated and then remitted to the casinos and junket operators through Philrem.
Wong said Maia Deguito, the bank branch manager, and Gao met in May in his office to discuss opening the accounts for a big amount of money that would be brought in and invested by Gao. Wong said he had no role in the fake paperwork and that all was arranged by Deguito.
Wong said Gao told him on Feb 4 that he and Ding would close their casino in Macau and invest the money in Manila. Gao also reportedly said he had money from the sale of land in China.
On Feb 5, the money was transferred in portions to the five fictitious bank accounts, he said. Philrem then electronically transferred the money to the casino accounts while other amounts were delivered in cash to Wong and the junket agents, or received by Wong at the house of Philrem owners Salud and Concon Bautista, Wong said.