RCBC legal chief quits less than 2 weeks after AMLC sued bank officers

The head of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) Legal and Regulatory Affairs Group has resigned less than two weeks after the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) filed criminal charges against six officers of the beleaguered lender.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, RCBC noted the resignation of Maria Celia Fernandez-Estavillo, effective December 31.

But the bank said her resignation has got nothing to do with the money laundering charges filed against its officers.

"Atty. Macel (Estavillo) resigned to pursue other endeavors and it has no relation to the case filed by AMLC," RCBC Vice President for Corporate Affairs Liza Marie Vengco told GMA News Online.

Six RCBC officers were slapped with criminal charges by the AMLC for their supposed involvement in laundering $81 million stolen from a Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Sued before the Department of Justice were former RCBC Treasurer Raul Victor Tan, National Sales Director for Retail Banking Ismael Reyes, Regional Sales Director for Retail Banking Brigitte Capiña, Direct Sales Director Nestor Pineda, Customer Service Head for Jupiter Business Center Romualdo Agarrado, and Senior Customer Relations Officer for Jupiter Business Center Angela Ruth Torres.

Estavillo represented the embattled RCBC during the Senate investigations into how $81 million in stolen funds were deposited in fictitious accounts at the RCBC Jupiter branch in Makati City before the money was transferred to casinos and junket operators in the country.

To replace her, the bank has hired George Gilbert Dela Cuesta as deputy group head of the Legal and Regulatory Affairs Group with a rank of first vice president starting Tuesday, November 29.

"Atty. Dela Cuesta has over 24 years of professional experience in the area of litigation, industrial relations, and general counsel," the RCBC disclosure read.

"He graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines in 1988 with a degree in bachelor of Arts major in Political Science and finished bachelor of Laws from the same university in 1992," it added.

Other resignations

On May 6, RCBC President Lorenzo Tan resigned from his post in the wake of the money laundering scandal after sacked Jupiter branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito told the Senate he was aware of the transactions involving the stolen funds. 

RCBC Treasurer Raul Victor Tan – not related to Lorenzo – resigned earlier "out of decency and honor" as Deguito also claimed knew of the transactions. 

RCBC has cleared both Tans of any complicit participation in the money laudenring scheme, or breach of banking policies regarding the $81 million of stolen funds. — VDS, GMA News