Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said a dismissed official of payments company Wirecard may still be in the Philippines.
Citing records from the Bureau of Immigration, Guevarra disclosed that Jan Marsalek, former COO of Wirecard, arrived in the country on March 3 and left on March 5.
"However, there are some indications that he may have returned recently and may still be here," Guevarra said in a text message to reporters.
According to the Justice Secretary, he has ordered the Bureau of Immigration to investigate the former Wirecard executive.
Guevarra also said he has directed National Bureau of Investigation to investigate certain personalities allegedly involved in the Wirecard case, in which 1.9 billion euros or USD 2.1 billion was reportedly have gone missing.
The NBI will coordinate with the Anti-Money Laundering Council in the initial phase of the investigation, he said.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno earlier said the missing $2.1 billion did not enter the Philippine financial system.
Two Philippine banks, BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands, have denied involvement with Wirecard, both saying they have determined that documents claiming Wirecard was a client of theirs were false.
"The international financial scandal used the names of two of the country's biggest banks—BDO and BPI—in an attempt to cover the perpetrators attack," Diokno said.
Markus Braun, Wirecard's CEO, has since resigned and been arrested on suspicion of market manipulation.
The payments provider has also admitted that the 1.9 billion euros missing from its accounts likely "do not exist."
