Junket operator returns $5.3M of heisted Bangladeshi funds

Casino junket operator Kam Sin ‘Kim’ Wong has delivered on his promise to return all the money that his firm got from the millions that was stolen from Bangladeshi central bank accounts, local media reported.

On Wednesday, Wong turned over some PHP250 million (US$5.30 million) to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), according to the Business Mirror. The amount represents the fourth and last tranche of the PHP450 million (US$9.54 million) that the businessman has promised Philippine lawmakers he will return.

Wong, a Chinese junket operator residing in the Philippines, has turned over $4.63 million and PHP488 million (US$10.34 million) in cash to the AMLC before May 5—the self-imposed deadline he made during a Senate hearing last April 15.

The businessman said it wasn’t easy to come up with the money, especially since most of his personal and corporate accounts were frozen. Wong admitted that most of the money were from “well-meaning friends” who helped him raise the funds.