THE Philippines has shown the world that it is a responsible member of the banking community with its response to the $81-million bank heist in Bangladesh recently, in which the stolen money ended up in a Philippine bank and casinos, a Palace official said.
In a radio interview Saturday, Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III said the Anti-Money Laundering Council, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed ex parte petition for the issuance of a freeze order with the Court of Appeals against RCBC bank accounts that received inward remittance totaling $81 million under the account name William S. Go.
When the money arrived in the Philippines, Quezon told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan that Philippine authorities sounded the alarm bells for a thorough investigation, he said.
Other countries have been cooperating and there have been reports that AMLC is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States.
“We are working with everyone to ensure there is transparency and so that we know what really happened and how we can prevent it from happening again,” he said.
“We should be aware that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is taking this seriously, the AMLC is showing that it is fulfilling its work. The Senate is holding hearings in aid of legislation and in fact the Bangko Sentral and the BIR have been giving their recommendations,” Quezon said.
And as the present Congress closes, the groundwork is being laid for future reforms that will further improve the system, the Palace official said.
For those who fear about the impact of the controversy to the country’s financial system, Quezon made an assurance that the government will hold accountable those who are involved in the heist.
With regards to calls to ease the Bank Secrecy Law in the country, Quezon said that while the BSP wants a stricter rules in the banking system, it hasn’t come up with specific recommendations it wants.
The Palace will wait on the recommendations by the BSP, and by Congress about specific actions on how to ease the Bank Secrecy Law, he said.
