THE Bangladesh government is squarely putting the blame on Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) and PhilRem Service Corp. (PhilRem) for the $81-million heist on its central bank.
Bangladesh Ambassador John Gomes said RCBC should be held accountable for failing to stop transactions transferring the $81 million from Bangladesh Central Bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to four accounts, despite memos from bank officials questioning its legitimacy.
Gomes’s response came the after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) imposed a hefty P1-billion fine to RCBC in connection with the anomalous transactions—the biggest bank penalty to date.
“RCBC is to be held responsible because they did not abide by instructions to stop payment request. If they had abided by that, if they had put the red flag on, then the Philippines might not have been projected as it is being projected now in the financial world,” Gomes said.
In February unknown hackers tried to steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh Central Bank account, funnelling the money to banks in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Currently, only $18 million of the total $81 million has been accounted for.
Gomes also said PhilRem, which was responsible for converting the money to Philippine peso, still has $17 million of the unaccounted money as discussed during the Senate Blue-Ribbon Committee hearings.
“We have reasons to believe that PhilRem is actually retaining that amount. PhilRem needs to take the responsibility of that money and return that amount to Bangladesh. They have the responsibility to return the money or face the consequences,” Gomes said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Supreme Court Senior Advocate Ajmalul Hossain said they are not looking to sue RCBC should the money be recovered, but they will go through every possible avenue if the situation demands for it.
“We know their weaknesses. They will have to face those challenges later on. We do not want to add challenge by suing them. If I get my money without suing anyone, is it not the best way of doing it,” Hossain said.
He added: “We leave it to the Filipino legal system. They have shown positive sign of doing things. There is no need for us to go barging to the court suing anyone.”
Gomes said the Bangladesh government is expecting to recover the $15 million submitted to the Anti-Money Laundering Council by gambling operator Kim Wong in two months time and the rest of the stolen money soon.
The Bangladeshi delegation has also met with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. regarding the $2.30 million frozen in Solaire Resort and Casino. According to Gomes, they are working closely with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to have the money released from Solaire through a court order.
Gomes said they are happy with how the process of recovering the stolen money is going and will continue to work with various government institutions. He added that things are being resolved quickly with the DOJ already filing cases against individuals with connection to the heist.
President Duterte, meanwhile, has expressed his full commitment in helping in the resolution and recovery of the money lost in the Bangladesh cyber heist.
A high level Bangladesh government delegation is also expected to visit in mid-September, which, according to Gomes, will have a meeting with President Duterte.
Gomes is confident the relationship between Philippines and Bangladesh has not eroded. He also said there is a possibility to reopen the Senate Blue Ribbon hearing on the heist.
Currently, the Bangladesh government is investing on increased cyber-security measures with the hiring two New York-based information-technology companies to strengthen their systems.
Gomes characterized what happened in their country as an international wake-up call where there are now global efforts to prevent the same event from happening again.
Image credits: Danielle Gabriel
23 comments
Yeah, like Gomes is a reputable person. After he called Filipinos a bunch of prostitutes and steals from his own maid, we should have him deported already.
Instead of going after RCBC he should really be looking at his own people, after all Bangladeshi officials provided the authentication needed for the funds to move, their own finance minister admitted that much.
Napaka bastus ng bunganga ng Gomes na yan. To think he is representing the Bangladesh Bank. Dapat yan ang isibak sa posisyon!
this is a very unfair and sweeping allegation. remember, the last senate hearing yielded no evidence against the bank. in fact, it was proven that maia deguito, the branch manager, was the one who acted on her own to do the crime. kawawa naman the bank, who had nothing to do with in. in the first place, di ba sabi ng FBI inside job to ng Bangladesh? why are they not doing their own internal inquiry.
Exactly. Everybody is so quick to jump the gun it’s insane.
Unfair is an understatement, Alexander. This is borderline criminal. Just because RCBC is a bank in the little island of the Philippines, it doesn’t give them the right to bully there way out of their own mess! CRIMINAL!
I am not saying RCBC has no fault. I am saying that at least they are open about it, unlike the Bangladesh bank!
Ha, this is so true. And can we focus on the fact that Deguito is still out there? Or maybe she’s finally on her way to Japan like she originally planned?
I hate how Bangladesh is pressuring us, as if it’s the Philippine’s fault, when in fact it is their fault.
They are the one who’s tarnishing our reputation. Such an extortionist!!!!
This is true! They should have done it in a nice way. Or why not do strengthen their security, than focusing on extorting our country. haysss
Do it in a nice way? You’re crazy. They won’t do that. They are too thick to do it nicely. They’re basically extorting us and they should stop that. that’sit!
I won’t trust someone who called Pinoys prostitues and thieves. Guy should learn to pay his maid by the way.
Why should the Philippines give back the $81-m? Ambassador Gomes is accused of not paying his maid. HIS MAID. Before he demands anything, he should look in the mirror and think how and why the Bangladesh finance minister said this was an inside job.
Before demanding and bullying the Philippines to do anything, Ambassador Gomes should think about suing the Federal Government and SWIFT. They should ask themselves how and why they were hacked in the first place. Finger-pointing isn’t always a good look.
And let’s not forget about the fact that Gomes continually called Pinoys thieves and prostitutes! Are we really going to bend down for such a guy?
“RCBC is to be held responsible because they did not abide by instructions to stop payment request. If they had abided by that, if they had put the red flag on, then the Philippines might not have been projected as it is being projected now in the financial world,” Gomes said.”
…but Fitch and Moody’s ratings for the bank are pretty stable. Gomes is pathetic since he’s clearly looking for someone to blame for his country’s lapses.
Wala e, thieves and prostitutes daw tayong mga Pinoy sabi ni Bangladesh Ambassador John Gomes. Baket naten siya tutulungan? E inside job nga ito diba?
ahem, Maya Deguito! If there’s someone who should have been investigated AND fined by bangladesh, it should have been her. Yet again, even bangladesh can’t even look for the money they lost in the first place, what more to investigate the truth?
Bago nila idemanda ang bank or humingi ng pera sa Pinas, imbestigahan muna nila kung ano talaga nangyari sa Bangladesh. Walang parusa sa mga sangkot dun? Bakit tayo yung kelangan kumilos?
I’d like to question the legitimacy of Bangladesh’s investigation. Are they really conducting it the right way? Are they asking the right wtinesses? Are they even investigating the right people? I’d like to know as well what led the BSP to put up the fine besides the argument of RCBC being involved in this issue.
Hoy, Gomes. Tinawag mo kaming mga kriminal at mga pokpok. Napaka-low mo at wala kang modo. You havent even finished investigating the issues in your country but youre letting another one solve yours? Anyare!!!!!
Bangladesh should be reminded that it was not anyone in and from the Phils. that hacked their account and stole their money. They should investigate themselves or bring their case to China and the US where as reported it all started.
RCBC talaga is still stable, and being able to pay the half of the billion says it all. Kaya nilang lumaban, ang masama lang ay yung reason ng laban. bangladesh muna ang dapat mag-ayos ng problema nila at ng nakakalokang ambassador bago sila mambully.