BUSINESSMAN William Go filed a criminal complaint against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch manager Maia Santos Deguito and former senior customer relationship officer Angela Torres in connection with the $81-million money laundering scandal being investigated by the Senate.
“They are lying and I know nothing about this,” Go told reporters after filing a case of falsification of documents before the Makati City Prosecutors Office on Friday afternoon.
Go, accompanied by his counsel Ramon Esguerra, also issued a statement that Truth Verifier Systems Inc. confirmed that Go’s signatures on the withdrawal slips for the P20 million that Torres allegedly gave Go were forgeries.
He also cited the testimony of former RCBC customer service head Romualdo Agarrado, who claimed that he saw P20 million in cash loaded into Deguito’s car.
Testifying before the Senate Thursday, Agarrado said Go was not present when the money was withdrawn from his account.
“There is no reason for Mr. Arragado to lie. On the contrary, Torres and Deguito have all the reasons to lie because their complicity in the money laundering scheme has become clearer as the Senate Investigation progresses,” Esguerra said.
Torres earlier claimed Go personally received P20 million from his account at the Jupiter branch, which was believed to be part of the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank account in New York.
She said that she delivered the cash to Go.
But Esguerra said his client did not have any knowledge of the opening of the account, where most of the alleged stolen money from the central bank of Bangladesh was consolidated before ending up in the hands of casinos and a junket operator.
“Mr. Go never opened an account with RCBC—Jupiter Branch here in Makati City. That account was opened without his knowledge, without his participation,” Go’s lawyer said.
Esguerra said the signature of Mr. Go was forged to open the US dollar bank account that allegedly consolidated the other accounts for eventual conversion into pesos.
In his complaint, Go also attached as evidence his specimen signature for his RCBC corporate account, not in Makati City, but in the Trinoma branch, which he maintains is his only account.
Earlier, the Justice Department summoned Deguito to appear before its preliminary investigation into the money laundering hcarges filed against her and four others by the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
Asst. State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamarra subpoenaed Deguito to appear at a hearing on Apri. 12. The prosecutor also ordered the respondent to answer AMLC’s complaint for violation of Section 4 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The Justice Department also compelled the appearance of four unidentified persons behind the aliases Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez, the supposed owners of the bank accounts where the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank went.
Pacamarra issued a separate subpoena on AMLC officials to ensure their presence during the hearing.
In its complaint, AMLC deputy director Vencent Salido sought the indictment of the Deguito and the four others for allegedly facilitating the laundering of the stolen money.
Go, to whom the amount was reportedly transferred before the money was laundered in local casinos, was not included among the respondents.
The AMLC has accused Deguito, manager of the bank’s branch in Jupiter Street in Makati City, of facilitating the act of money laundering when she “allowed the opening of the subject bank accounts on 15 May 2015 based on identity documents that were verified to be fictitious.
The AMLC said Deguito failed in her responsibility to verify the identities of the four depositors and allowed them to withdraw the stolen money.
Deguito has denied the allegation.
She also denied approaching Go or offering him P10 million in exchange for keeping his silence.
She said all the transactions in her branch had the approval of RCBC president Lorenzo Tan, claiming that she was being used as a scapegoat so that bank officials could avoid criminal liability.
Senator Teofisto Guingona III said Friday that other bank officials could be involved in the money laundering scandal after hearing Deguito’s testimon yin executive session Thursday night.
Guingona, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said it was premature, however, to reveal more details as there was no concrete evidence against the officials as yet.
He said Deguito mentioned two senior executives, but declined to identify them because of a lack of proof.
Guingona also said Deguito’s testimony made it appear that she had been used.
“At least we know, according to her story… it seems that she was just used and there is a prime mover for all of this,” Guingona said.
Senator Sergio Osmeña III said it was clear that the money laundering was the handiwork of a syndicate.
“Obviously this is a syndicate. One person cannot do this,” he said.
He said the name of businessman Kim Wong, also known as a casino junket operator, came up prominently during the executie session.
It was Wong, Deguito said, who referred her to the four accounts which are now the subject of a Senate investigation.
She described Wong as a friend of RCBC president Lorenzo Tan.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, meanwhile, demanded that RCBC submit all the sworn statements of bank personnel involved in the scandal.
Agarrado, former customer service head, had already submitted his affidavit to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
“I want all other affidavits including that of Angela Torres who contradicts what other bank employees are saying” he said.
For example, he said, while Agarrado said he saw the P20 million in Deguito’s car, Torres said she brought the money to a waiting Lexus driven by Go. She also said the receipt was signed by Go.