Philippine DOJ indicts Bangladeshi bank heist figures

Philippine authorities have indicted several figures at the center of last year’s Bangladeshi bank heist while declining to indict two local casino junket operators who also figured prominently in the case.

On Monday, the Philippine Department of Justice filed papers indicting former Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito, along with Michael and Salud Bautista, the husband-and-wife owners of remittance firm Philrem Corporation, for multiple violations of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The indictments stem from the February 2016 unauthorized transfer of $81m from Bangladeshi Bank accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank in New York to accounts at the RCBC branch managed by Deguito. The identity of those who initiated the transfer remains unproven, but suspicions have focused on hackers working for the North Korean government.

Deguito, who was fired shortly after the scandal was brought to light, stands accused of eight AML violations, including facilitating the withdrawal of the stolen funds from the RCBC accounts despite having received orders to stop the payments and return the stolen funds.