Former officials of BMS Rural Bank face criminal raps

The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) on Tuesday said it has filed criminal complaints against officials of now-defunct BMS Rural Bank Inc. for falsification of commercial documents.

Investigation revealed that the former president and officers of BMS created two fictitious loans worth P2.06 million, the PDIC said in a statement.

“PDIC investigation further revealed that respondents falsified the bank’s promissory notes, disclosure statements and loan sheets to make it appear that the alleged borrowers obtained loans from BMS Bank,” it said.

“In their affidavits, the alleged borrowers denied obtaining loans from the bank, citing that their signatures on the promissory notes were forged,” the state-run insurer of bank deposits noted.

The PDIC said two of the supposed borrowers were found to have been out of the country when the loans were supposedly transacted, making it impossible for them to personally sign off the documents.

Criminal charges have since been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against BMS Rural Bank, which the Monetary Board ordered closed in May.

“The filing of cases against erring individuals is in support of PDIC’s efforts to bring to justice parties that engage in anomalous, fraudulent and irregular acts that pose risk to depositors and the Deposit Insurance Fund, PDIC’s main fund source for payout of deposit insurance claims,” it said.

The PDIC is mandated to generate, preserve, maintain faith and confidence in the country’s banking system, and protect it from illegal schemes and machinations. —VDS, GMA News