Eagle News — Former manager of Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Jupiter (Makati) branch Maia Santos-Deguito, maintained that she is not the grandmaster of the 81-million-dollar money laundering scandal.
Deguito made the statement when she appeared before the senate hearing yesterday, putting the blame on RCBC President Lorenzo Tan.
She also said she was sorry for trusting Tan, because she thought that by following Tan, it would help her performance in her career as bank manager.
“I have unwittingly allowed myself to be set up as the scapegoat when all I wanted was to advance my career, boost my performance as a bank manager/ these are legitimate goals for every working mother,” Deguito said.
“I followed him when he said I should take care of his friend, that i relied on the act that Mr. Tan could have been unaware of a transaction that has been labeled the biggest bank heist in the history of the world,” the former bank manager added.
It might be recalled that Businessman Kim Wong pinned Deguito during the March 29 hearing saying she was the one who forged the four bank accounts, from which the looted funds were transferred to.
But Deguito claimed that it was Wong, who referred to her the four bank depositors, who had allegedly received and withdrawn the 81 million dollar stolen funds from the Bangladesh’s Central Bank.
She said Wong is a friend of RCBC president and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Tan.
Deguito and Wong are two key players in the alleged 81-million dollars money laundering controversy.
