Wong turns over the rest of the Bangladeshi funds

Kim Wong has completed the turnover of an amount believed to be part of the US$81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank.

The Philippines.- Casino junket operator Kim Wong has now completed the turnover of an amount believed to be part of the US$81 million stolen from the Bangladesh central bank. The funds were delivered to the Anti-Money Laundering Council for safekeeping.

Wong’s lawyers turned over US$4.63 million on April 1 and another P38.28 million (US$809,638) on April 4 to AMLC executive director Julia Bacay-Abad. Then, on April 5, Wong committed to return the entire amount, which he said was money stolen from the Bangladesh central bank and asked the Senate Blue Ribbon committee for 15 to 30 days to raise the money.

On April 18, Wong turned over through his lawyers, another P200 million (US$ 4230086) to the AMLC and the remaining P250 million (US$5,287,607.50 on May 3. The entire P450 million represents a debt paid by Gao to Wong. In all, Wong has turned over to the AMLC P488.28 million (US$ 10,327,331.96) and US$4.63 million that casino junket agent Gao Shuhua had abandoned in Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co. Ltd. and Midas Casino.

AMLC has started the process for the return of the money to the Bangladesh central bank after it filed a petition for civil forfeiture case before the regional trial court in the National Capital Region. In addition, AMLC has filed criminal charges for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act against Wong, Weikang Xu, Philrem, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Jupiter branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito, as well as Michael Francis Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, AMLC and the Senate Blue Ribbon committee are still conducting separate probes after the money stolen from the Bangladesh central bank’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York entered the Philippines through fictitious bank accounts at RCBC.