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ACCOUNT NUMBER 178000296012

No such account, Singapore bank tells Trillanes


SINGAPORE - Senator Antonio Trillanes IV does not own any account with the DBS Bank in Singapore, contrary to the allegations of President Rodrigo Duterte, a branch manager informed him Tuesday morning.

Trillanes arrived past 9 a.m. at the DBS branch in Alexandra Road, bringing with him his passport, Senate ID, and a printout of the document being circulated on social media detailing his alleged DBS account numbered 178000296012.

After a few minutes of checking, the teller told Trillanes: "There's no such account."

Trillanes was then asked where he got the account details. He explained that he was being accused by the President of the Philippines of owning such account.

Duterte earlier said the senator has "193,000" in his DBS account without specifying the currency of the amount.

The branch manager then talked to Trillanes for about 10 minutes.

The senator asked for a certification from the bank but he was told that they cannot issue such document because he is not a client.

In an interview in Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Trillanes' claim needs to be verified.

Abella insisted that Duterte had checked the background of Trillanes' alleged DBS Bank account.

Duterte said last Friday that the senator's bank account in Singapore  and in Zurich had been closed.

HSBC branch at Raffles tower

Trillanes also went to the Raffles City Tower and showed to the media that the business listing shows that there is no "Hongkong Shanghai Bank" nor The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited or HSBC.

Documents circulated by Ben Tesiorna, owner of the Davao Breaking News - 2, and shared by Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, alleged that Trillanes opened an account with "Hongkong Shanghai Bank" in its Raffles Branch in Singapore on July 2013.

Journalist Erwin Tulfo also shared the same information on his Facebook page.

The account number 0016729915127, they said, has a balance of SGD 278,300 as of August 30, 2017.

Even if the said bank was non-existent in the first place, Trillanes decided to check if there were HSBC branches at the Raffles area.

The senator went to Marina Square and but only found an automated teller machine, instead of a branch of HSBC.

Trillanes has submitted bank secrecy waivers to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) and the Office of the Ombudsman covering 12 accounts he is being accused of owning.

He also earlier said that he will file libel charges against Tesiorna, Uson, and Tulfo. —ALG/KVD, GMA News

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