Recto, Osmeña bat for closed-door hearing with RCBC branch manager

Two senators on Wednesday backed the request of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito to testify and tell-all  in an executive session with the Senate blue ribbon committee to shed light into allegations about an $81-million money laundering scheme.

In separate statements, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto and Senator Sergio Osmeña III believe that Deguito holds the key that can unravel the truth about an online bank heist involving the money of the Bangladesh government.

"We hope to obtain information on the original clients who opened the four accounts," Osmeña said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Santos-Deguito is branch manager of RCBC on Jupiter Street in Makati City, where the funds were transferred from the Bangladesh Bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

She allegedly facilitated the transfer of the illicit funds to multiple accounts under four fictitious names at the RCBC branch last February.

From the multiple accounts, the money was supposedly consolidated into a single US dollar account under the name of Filipino-Chinese businessman William Go.

The amount was then withdrawn, some of the money converted into pesos, and transferred to at least three casinos.

Grand conspiracy

But Santos-Deguito sought refuge under her rights against self-incrimination during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, fearing that her statement would be used against her in the criminal complaints filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council with the Department of Justice.

The Senate will resume its hearing on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.  It was not immediately clear if the senators would be able to hear Santos-Deguito's testimony behind closed doors as well.

"The executive session is still up in the air. No firm commitment yet that it will be held tomorrow (Thursday), but the 1:30 p.m. public hearing is pushing through," said Rey Mendoza, media officer of Senator Teofisto Guingona III, the chairman of the blue ribbon committee.

Recto said Santos-Deguito's testimony is crucial in identifying all the characters involved and "in connecting the dots to unravel the mystery behind the cyber heist."

She could not have pulled off the scheme alone, Recto noted, saying the committee  would like to uncover the connection between a group of hackers who supposedly stole the money from the Fed and officials of RCBC.

He labeled the scheme a "grand conspiracy."

Executive session

"Maliwanag na magkakakila ang mga taong sangkot dito. Kahit sa executive session lang, importante na malaman ang partisipasyon nila mula sa mga leads na ibibigay ng branch manager," Recto was quoted as saying in radio interview.

Under Rule 47 of the Rules of the Senate, an executive session is held behind closed doors.

Matters discussed during the executive sessions cannot be divulged publicly unless the senators, through a two-thirds vote, agreed to do so.

Such was the case in the investigation into the bloody Mamasapano clash after senators agreed last January to release some details culled from the five executive sessions with military and police officials and witnesses to the botched anti-terror raid that led to the massacre of 44 elite cops. – VDS, GMA News