Six former officers of two closed rural banks in Panay Island were convicted recently for violating the General Banking Law of 2000 due to fraudulent transactions, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in a statement.
The Regional Trial Court of Iloilo City convicted three officers of the closed Rural Bank of Badiangan (Iloilo) Inc. for 20 counts of violation of the General Banking Law of 2000. The convictions are results of a criminal complaint filed by the BSP against the three bank officers in 2016 for defrauding clients by soliciting deposits but willfully omitting said transactions in the books of the bank.
Investigations revealed that high interest rates were offered to entice the public to make such deposits.
The Monetary Board of the BSP placed the rural bank under the receivership of the state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. on July 5, 2012.
Meanwhile, the Regional Trial Court of Culasi, Antique convicted three officers of the closed Rural Bank of Sebaste (Antique) Inc. on criminal charges filed by the BSP. In a decision dated July 9, 2019, the court found the bank officials guiltyof violation of the General Banking Law of 2000.
