DOJ summons Kim Wong, Weikang Xu over $81-M money laundering scheme  

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has summoned businessman Kam Sin "Kim" Wong and Weikang Xu to a preliminary investigation regading a scheme to launder $81 million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamarra ordered Wong and Xu to file their counter-affidavits and other supporting documents or testimonies of their witnesses.

Wong and Xu are casino junket operators who are also being question by the Senate blue ribbon committee for supposedly benefitting from the proceeds of the $81 million bank heist.

The prosecutor said Wong and Xu should swear to the truthfulness of their sworn statements and supporting documents on April 19, at 10 a.m. at the second floor of the National Prosecution Service Multi-purpose Building at the DOJ in Manila.

"You are hereby warned that failure on your part to comply with this subpoena shall be considered as a waiver of your right to present your defense and the case shall be considered submitted for resolution based on the evidence on record," Pacamarra noted in a two-page subpoena.

The respondents are facing a money laundering complaint filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council, for supposedly violating Section 4(a) and (b) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act. 

The AMLC complaint has prompted the Justice Department to summon the junket operators.

PhilRem

Wong is the president and general manager of Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company Limited, a company organized in Hong Kong and operating in Cagayan Economic Processing Zone as a casino junket operator.

The AMLC has alleged, citing results of its investigation, PhilRem Service Corp. transferred P1 billion to Eastern Hawaii's Philippine National Bank account. Wong then supposedly made withdrawals from the same account totaling P900,475,000 from February 10 to 26, 2016.

PhilRem is a cash remittance company which handled the transfers, involving the $81 million, from supposedly fictitious accounts opened at the Jupiter Street branch of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. to the junket operators.

Wong supposedly made a fund transfer/deposit to his personal PNB account on February 10, and cash withdrawal of P400 million on February 11.

According to the AMLC, Xu is a Chinese national staying as a guest at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.

Five bank accounts under fictitious names were opened on May 15, 2015 at the RCBC Jupiter branch in Makati City by bank manager Maia Santo-Deguito. The accounts were supposedly opened upon Wong's referral.

Deguito has since been fired and sued by RCBC for falsifying bank documents.

Only four of the fictitious account were actually used in alleged money laundering scheme.

William Go

Deguito allegedly facilitated the money transfers involving the Bangladesh funds to the four accounts last February.

Another account under the name of William So Go was opened on February 1, 2016. This was where the money from the four accounts was consolidated.

Go testified before Senate committee disowning any account under his name at the RCBC Jupiter branch, including a peso account opened in July 2014.

The funds credited into Go's account were then transferred to the account of PhilRem at the RCBC branch in Unimart Greenhills.

From February 5 to 11, 2016, PhilRem transferred P1,373,474,850.77 to Bloomberry Resorts and Hotel Inc., the operator of Solaire. Bloomberry's corporate secretary would later testify at a Senate hearing the amount was transferred to Xu's account. — RSJ/VDS, GMA News