Solaire to return illicit funds if court orders them to do so

Solaire Resort and Casino said Tuesday it will only return to authorities P107 million believed to be part of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh Bank that was laundered in the Philippines if there is a court order for them to do so.

"We have frozen P107 million. We are waiting for the court order on what to do with them," said Solaire legal counsel Benny Tan when asked by Senator Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino IV how much money it could return to Bangladesh. 

Specifically, Solaire has frozen P107.35 million in chips used by casino high roller Ding Zhizhe, one of the two Chinese men tagged by casino junket operator Kim Wong as masterminds in the bank heist. The other Chinese man is Gao Shu Hua. 

Solaire also said it confiscated various denominations of cash from the rooms used by Ding's group amounting to P1,347,069.

A civil forfeiture case has to be filed in court to begin the recovery of the funds in Solaire's possession.

Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Julia Bacay-Abad promised to file the forfeiture cases next week. 

So far, only $5.5 million of the $81-million loot was turned over to the AMLC for safekeeping at the central bank's vault. 

The money was returned by Wong, who had said he was unaware that the funds came from illegal sources. —KG, GMA News