HPhilippine President, Rodrigo Duterte, has given a commitment that the $81 million stolen by cyber criminals from the account of Bangladesh Bank in New York and funneled through bank accounts in Manila would be returned.
John Gomes, the Bangladesh Ambassador, disclosed on Friday in Manila that Duterte has given his commitment.
Gomes said a Bangladesh central bank team visiting Manila to recover the money said they were getting close to getting back $15 million of the loot frozen by the Philippines.
Gomes said the cyber criminals tried to steal nearly $1 billion from Bangladesh Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in February and succeeded in transferring $81 million to four accounts at Manila’s Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCB.PS).
The ambassador said investigation revealed that money was then laundered through the city’s casinos.
He said: “Only about $18 million, including $2.7 million frozen by the Philippines’ casino regulator, has been accounted for.”
Gomes said the Philippines’ Department of Justice has asked the Bangladesh Bank delegation to file a legal document staking its claim to the $15 million.
He said: “We are very hopeful that we will get the total $81 million.”
He added that Bangladesh’s finance minister might come to the Philippines to meet Duterte to help in the recovery of the money.
Gomes said the bank felt RCBC should be held responsible because it did not follow a stop-payment request from Bangladesh Bank and its lawyer, Ajmalul Hossain, said it would sue RCBC if it was not able to recover the entire $81 million.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Paras III, Chief State Counsel of the Philippines DoJ, said he has already drafted court documents to begin recovery of the $15 million.
Paras, however, stressed that it was important for Bangladesh to prove it is their money.
The Bangladeshi delegation said they have prepared an affidavit citing a letter by the New York Fed to the Philippines’ central bank, in which the Fed said the money was stolen from Bangladesh Bank’s account.
They said that the affidavit would be given to the DoJ.
Reuters/NAN.