Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 12) — A Philippine bank accused the Bangladesh Bank of covering up what was called one of the biggest heist ever after it refused to release the results of its investigation.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said the Bangladesh Bank is “partly to blame” for the heist in 2016.
“Its refusal to be transparent is a continuing cover-up and a disservice to global efforts to combat cybercrime. For this, (Bangladesh Bank) must be sanctioned until it owns up and shares what it knows to prevent a repeat,” the RCBC said in a statement on December 12.
RCBC also asked the Bangladesh Bank to “stop making RCBC its scapegoat” since the Philippine bank has already revealed what it could to authorities, including the Senate and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The BSP, in August 2016, slapped a P1 billion fine on RCBC – the biggest fine ever imposed by the monetary authority. RCBC is the 10th largest bank in the country, based on total assets of P427 billion (US$ 8.5 billion) in June 2017, said the BSP.
READ: BSP fines RCBC P1B over laundering scam
Unknown cyber criminals tried to steal around $1 billion (P50.435 billion) from the Bangladesh Bank in February 2016.
Around $81 million (P4.085 billion) were transferred through an account at the New York Federal Reserve to four accounts in fake names at a branch of RCBC in Manila. Most of the money were withdrawn and laundered through multiple channels.
But RCBC said it is just a victim of Bangladesh Bank’s negligence.
“RCBC was a beneficiary bank, who received the funds in good faith,” the RCBC statement read.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council in the Philippines charged five RCBC officials and a former treasurer who “wilfully ignored” the suspicious activity.
READ: Philippine money laundering body charges bankers for ignoring cyber heist
Bangladesh wanted the RCBC to shoulder the missing chunk of the $81 million stolen from its central bank.
READ: Bangladesh to RCBC: Pay for missing $66 million
The RCBC questioned this, after the former finance minister of Bangladesh called the heist an “inside job.”
“If it was stolen with the alleged connivance of Bangladesh Bank’s own people, why should RCBC be the one to return the money?” the RCBC asked.
