Stop blaming on $81m theft

RCBC tells BB

A lawyer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) on Tuesday said Bangladesh Bank (BB) should stop blaming RCBC for the $81 million heist and instead produce the results of its investigation to shed some light on what really happened, according to Manila Bulletin.
“This is the least BB can do,” RCBC external counsel Thea Daep said in a statement Tuesday.
Daep also pointed out that despite being blamed for BB’s loss RCBC will not pay the latter anything.
This, even if a Bangladeshi official has called on RCBC officials to make true to their promise of compensating BB if it was found liable in the laundering of the $81 million in February 2016.

Earlier, Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes said RCBC’s liability to the money laundering can be clearly seen through several factors such as the cases filed against its officials, the resignation of some of its officials and the fine slapped by the Philippine central bank against the universal bank.
Last May, RCBC’s Board of Directors accepted the resignation of its president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lorenzo V. Tan. Tan has been cleared by the RCBC Board of any wrongdoing in the money laundering involving its Jupiter-Makati branch.
Last August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered RCBC to pay a P1 billion fine over the cyberheist.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has filed money laundering charges against several RCBC officials including its Treasurer Raul Victor Tan, who resigned from the bank last April 20; former RCBC Jupiter-Makati branch manager Maia Deguito, RCBC Jupiter-Makati branch senior customer relations officer Angela Ruth Torres, its National Sales Director for Banking Group and Retail Banking Group Regional Sales Director.
Amidst these factors, Daep said Bangladeshi officials should not held RCBC liable for the theft, citing reports quoting Bangladeshi officials as saying that initial results of their investigation show that the heist happened with the help of BB insiders.
“Shortly after that, BB decided to abort its investigation which raises a lot of questions, to say the least,” she said.
Thus, she said “RCBC is not the proximate cause of the theft.”
“They have no case against us. BB was the one who was negligent. We, therefore, urge BB to be transparent to the Philippine government which has done so much to help them and show us who really stole from them,” she said.
“Consequently, RCBC has no plans to pay BB any amount,” she added.

Stop blaming on $81m theft

RCBC tells BB

A lawyer of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) on Tuesday said Bangladesh Bank (BB) should stop blaming RCBC for the $81 million heist and instead produce the results of its investigation to shed some light on what really happened, according to Manila Bulletin. This is the least BB can do, RCBC external counsel Thea Daep said in a statement Tuesday. Daep also pointed out that despite being blamed for BBs loss RCBC will not pay the latter anything. This, even if a Bangladeshi official has called on RCBC officials to make true to their promise of compensating BBif it was found liable in the laundering of the $81 million in February 2016. Earlier, Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes said RCBCs liability to the money laundering can be clearly seen through several factors such as the cases filed against its officials, the resignation of some of its officials and the fine slapped by the Philippine central bank against the universal bank. Last May, RCBCs Board of Directors accepted the resignation of its president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lorenzo V. Tan. Tan has been cleared by the RCBC Board of any wrongdoing in the money laundering involving its Jupiter-Makati branch. Last August, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered RCBC to pay a P1 billion fine over the cyberheist. The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has filed money laundering charges against several RCBC officials including its Treasurer Raul Victor Tan, who resigned from the bank last April 20; former RCBC Jupiter-Makati branch manager Maia Deguito, RCBC Jupiter-Makati branch senior customer relations officer Angela Ruth Torres, its National Sales Director for Banking Group and Retail Banking Group Regional Sales Director. Amidst these factors, Daep said Bangladeshi officials should not held RCBC liable for the theft, citing reports quoting Bangladeshi officials as saying that initial results of their investigation show thatthe heist happened with the help of BBinsiders. Shortly after that, BB decided to abort its investigation which raises a lot of questions, to say the least, she said. Thus, she said RCBC is not the proximate cause of the theft. They have no case against us. BB was the one who was negligent. We, therefore, urge BB to be transparent to the Philippine government which has done so much to help them and show us who really stole from them, she said. Consequently, RCBC has no plans to pay BB any amount, she added.