Philrem president's personal account closed by RCBC

Despite having been excluded from a freeze order requested by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) before the Court of Appeals, the president of money transfer firm Philrem Service Corp. said her personal account was closed by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC).

"The only bank that closed my account is RCBC," Philrem President Salud Bautista told the Senate blue ribbon committee on Tuesday.

Bautista claimed she was instructed by RCBC Jupiter branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito to deliver some P600 million in cash to one Wei Kang Xu.

The amount was part of the $81 million said to have been stolen from the Bangladesh bank account with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Bautista noted her RCBC bank account was unilaterally closed on March 1. Then she claimed to have received a notification from the bank that she would be issued a manager's check.

She called the bank on March 2, asking why the check has not been released.

"They closed my personal account and my other company's account. They unilaterally closed all our accounts without reason," Bautista said.

The closure of both accounts have caused the "demise" of her other company, Bautista said. She did not elaborate.

She also claimed that several checks she have issued since then have bounced.

At the same hearing, RCBC Compliance Officer Winwin Salamatin noted that the freeze order did not cover Bautista's the personal accounts.

Also during Tuesday's hearing, AMLC Executive Director Julia Abad said some 44 bank accounts have been frozen in relation to the investigation into the laundering scheme. – VDS, GMA News