A Philippine bank said it is investigating an 81 million USD deposit after Bangladesh accused Chinese hackers of stealing from a US account and illegally moving the funds online to the Philippines and Sri Lanka. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
(Eagle News) — Malacanang said it would back all legal processes that aim to ensure the integrity of banking transactions in the Philippines, amid the investigation for the cyber theft of US$81 million from the central bank of Bangladesh.
In a statement, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said that “the government supports all legal processes that are observed to ensure the integrity of all banking and financial transactions in the Philippines.”
“The Anti-Money Laundering Council has (the) primary responsibility for determining if there has been violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act,” he said.
He explained that the AMLC has
conveyed its findings to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or to the Office of the Ombudsman, “which takes on the responsibility of assessing whether there is probable cause for the filing of charges”.
The Bangladesh Criminal Investigation Department reported on Monday that about 20 foreign citizens took part in the cyber theft.
Citing the ongoing investigation, the department declined to name the foreign nationals who stole US$81 million from Bangladesh’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The amount ended up in the Philippines and was allegedly laundered in three casinos. (with PND)