Special Correspondent :
Bangladesh Bank has a bright chance to win the legal battle against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp taking advantage of proven evidence and findings regarding its $81 million cyberheist in 2016.
On Thursday, Bangladesh Bank (BB) filed a lawsuit with a New York court against the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) for its role in one of the world’s biggest cyber-heist.
“BB has good chance to win the legal battle against RCBC although it took much time to lodge the case,” former central bank Governor Dr Mohammed Farashuddin told The New Nation yesterday.
He said it took nearly three year to file the case. It should be lodged much earlier to recover the stolen fund from RCBC within the shortest possible time. “The central bank of Philippines and the country’s court have already found RCBC Bank and its officials guilty for laundering the BB’s fund,” he added.
RCBC faced a record one billion pesos ($20 million) fine by the Philippine central bank for non-compliance with banking laws and regulations in connection with the money laundering scandal. Philippine authorities have also framed money-laundering charges against the RCBC Branch Manager Maia Santos-Deguito, its former treasury and retail banking head Raul Victor Tan and senior customer relations officer Angela Ruth Torres, national sales Director Ismael Reyes, Regional Sales Director Brigette Capiña, District Sales Director Nestor Pineda and Customer Service Head Romualdo Agarrad in connection with the Bangladesh Bank’s cyberheist.
The RCBC officers and employees facilitated the suspicious transactions involving the accounts of a certain Michael Cruz ($6 million), Jessie Christopher Lagrosas ($30 million), Alfred Vergara ($20 million), and Enrico Vasquez ($25 million) despite stop payment requests from the Bangladesh Bank.
The funds were transferred to the account of William Go, who owns Centurytex Trading, and eventually to Philrem Services Corporation owned by the Bautista couple.
On January 10, a Philippine court found former RCBC Branch Manager Maia Deguito guilty on eight counts of money laundering; the first conviction in the heist case.
The regional court sentenced Deguito to a jail term ranging from 32 to 56 years, with each count carrying four to seven years.
The RCBC President and CEO resigned from his post following the incident.
“The above mentioned legal actions against the RCBC and it officials by Philippines authorities sent Bangladesh Bank in a favourable position in the case. Besides, the NY Fed is providing the much-needed assistance to BB in its litigation. All these developments will be effective in winning the legal battle as well as the recovery of stolen funds,” opined Dr Mohammed Farashuddin, who led a government-appointed inquiry committee formed after the BB’s reserve heist.
The probe body also recommended filing a lawsuit against the RCBC for recovering Bangladesh central bank’s $81 million stolen reserve from the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
“Filing the case was a positive move towards recovering the stolen and I am hopeful of its positive outcome,” another former BB governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told The New Nation.
He said BB had a fair chance to win the legal battle since Philippines Anti- Money Laundering Council and court have already found RCBC and its officials guilty. “But the case may not be settled immediately due to lengthy court procedure. It may take years to get the final outcome.”
The central bank’s attorney Ajmalul Hossain QC on Sunday said that the case could be settled in three years’ time.
According to him, the case was filed with the Southern District of New York on February 1 against: seven institutions including the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation of the Philippines, 15 individuals and 25 unknown persons.
“There might be challenges in the legal battle, but we will be able to establish justice in our favour providing crucial evidences on RCBC’s deliberate involvement in the cyberheist,” he said at a press briefing yesterday. The Philippine authorities in their investigation also found the trail of the BB’s heist fund which laundered through the local casinos after RCBC officials facilitate suspicious transaction involving the accounts of a certain Michael Cruz ($6 million), Jessie Christopher Lagrosas ($30 million), Alfred Vergara ($20 million), and Enrico Vasquez ($25 million) despite stop payment requests from the Bangladesh Bank. The funds were transferred in the account of William Go, who owns Centurytex Trading, and eventually to Philrem Services Corporation owned by the Bautista couple from RCBC’s branch on Jupiter St. in Makati City.
“RCBC was directly involved in the BB’s cyberheist. The Philippines authorities have also held RCBC and its officials responsible for the incident,” former BB Deputy Governor Dr Khondoker Ibrahim Khaled told The New Nation.
He also said that RCBC received the stolen money and its officials helped laundered the fund for disbursement through different channels. “BB has lot of evidence in this regard and it will facilitate BB to win the legal battle.”
On February 4, 2016, unidentified hackers broken into Bangladesh Bank’s system and created 70 orders to the New York Federal Reserve Bank amounting to $1.94 billion. Of that amount, $101 million was released.
The hackers sent $81 million to the RCBC’s branch and swiftly withdrawn and vanished through local casinos, and the rest, $20 million went to Sri Lanka, which has returned the money to Bangladesh.
The Philippines later returned $14.54 million to Bangladesh but the rest is yet to be retrieved.
