NBI files criminal raps vs ex-Wirecard official, several others

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed criminal complaint against former Wirecard executive Jan Marsalek, a Filipino lawyer, and several others over the accounting scandal that led to the collapse of the German payments processor last year.

Assistant State Prosecutor Honey Rose Delgado told reporters on Friday that the NBI filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday a complaint for falsification of commercial documents against Marsalek, lawyer Mark Tolentino, Joey Dela Cruz Arellano, Judith Singayan Pe, and some unidentified individuals.

The respondents were also charged for violations of the Electronic Commerce Act, Cybercrime Prevention Act, and banking laws.

The DOJ did not provide details of the complaints, which will be evaluated by prosecutors to determine whether the respondents should stand trial.

The controversy stemmed from Wirecard's missing 1.9 billion euros (US$2.1 billion), which was alleged to have been placed in two Philippine banks, but BDO and the Bank of the Philippine Islands denied this.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also said none of the money entered the country's financial system.

Tolentino was allegedly tagged as the “trustee” of Wirecard’s supposedly missing cash. He later claimed that he was framed and that his identity was stolen by “foreigners” who came into his office asking how they can do business in the Philippines.

Marsalek, the former chief operating officer of Wirecard, was responsible for the Asia business that became the focus of accounting irregularities. He remains at large.

Last August, the NBI filed a criminal complaint against two Bureau of Immigration personnel who allegedly falsified Marsalek’s travel records.

The NBI said "spurious" immigration records on the travel of Marsalek to and from the Philippines in June last year appear to have been meant to mislead the European authorities pursuing him.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra previously said there were records of Marsalek arriving in the country on June 23, 2020 and leaving for China the following day.

He later said the records were found to have been falsified.—AOL, GMA News