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PDIC hires more experts to boost case vs. Legacy group


MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines’ deposit insurer will hire more experts in its fraud investigation against the Legacy Group, a move that will boost its criminal cases against Celso de los Angeles. Experts from auditing firm Punongbayan & Araullo (P&A) will be hired by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC), the agency said, tapping the company’s expertise in forensic fraud investigation. “This kind of investigation is geared towards uncovering transactions intentionally hidden in a maze of paper trail and deleted computer files," PDIC president Jose C. Nograles said. “It aims to identify and document possible fraud schemes, irregularities and anomalies that may have been perpetrated against the banks and which may be used as basis for the filing of criminal, civil and/or administrative cases." Besides planning to establish a case management system to preserve evidence gathered during the investigation, the experts will also assist in asset recovery, allowing the PDIC to put claims on properties of De los Angeles and other persons involved. “Forensic fraud investigation is being used by other countries such as the United States," Nograles said. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Racketeering Records Analysis Unit uses forensic fraud investigation in cases covered by the Racketeering Influence and Corrupt Organization (RICO Law)." By itself, the state-run agency has already combed through more than 2,000 boxes of voluminous documents, resulting in the filing of charges including syndicated estafa against the Legacy Group’s owner. The cases filed also sought to place a claim on De los Angeles’ properties, enabling the government to sell them to pay for depositors. “We are dealing not just with individual banks, but with a group of companies composed of several banks and pre-need companies controlled by certain persons through dummy ownerships, enmeshed in a criss-crossing labyrinth of transactions," Nograles said. Experts from the auditing firm are already following up 26 leads involving deals that has “rendered the transactions opaque." “Untangling these deals could possibly result to findings of fraud and the filing of additional cases," he said. The investigation will initially zoom in on bank transactions that were suspected as fraud schemes, irregularities, and anomalies for the past five years for all banks, except Rural Bank of Parañaque, Inc., which would cover transactions for the past 10 years. Fraud investigation would be conducted in the Rural Bank of Parañaque, Pilipino Rural Bank, Rural Bank of Bais (Negros Oriental), Rural Bank of San Jose (Batangas), Bank of East Asia, First Interstate Bank, Philippine Countryside Rural Bank, Dynamic Rural Bank, Nation Bank, Rural Bank of Carmen (Cebu), Rural Bank of DARBCI, San Pablo City Development Bank, and The Center Rural Bank. All banks except The Center RB were placed under receivership by the Monetary Board in December 2008. The Center RB is a Legacy-affiliated bank placed under receivership in February 2006. - GMANews.TV
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