Lawyer to sue BSP execs for linking Banco Filipino to alleged 'Ponzi' scheme

Lawyer Harry Roque on Thursday said he will file a criminal complaint against Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials after the BSP linked him to Banco Filipino’s alleged operation using the fraudulent ‘Ponzi’ scheme. In an interview with GMA News Online, Roque said he will charge BSP Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. and members of the Monetary Board, among others, for besmirching his name. He said Tetangco and company want to retaliate after the beleaguered bank filed a graft complaint against the seven officials of the Monetary Board last week. "Part of the retaliation is to destroy the reputation of people like me," Roque said. In a statement issued by Roque’s law firm, Banco Filipino also denied engaging in a fraudulent “Ponzi" pyramiding scheme that allegedly fattened the purses of its lawyers and investors at the expense of depositors. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday justified its order to close and place Banco Filipino under the receivership of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) after the bank allegedly continued engaging in a Ponzi scheme that funded withdrawals using later deposits. The BSP alleged that Roque and Banco Filipino vice-chairperson Perfecto Yasay benefited from P245 million in legal fees that the thrift bank handed out last year. 'Why just now?' In a statement issued by the Roque & Butuyan Law Offices, Banco Filipino called the public's attention to the fact that an independent BSP-appointed comptroller has been overseeing the bank's operations since 1994. "Banco Filipino declared that if there were any anomalies in the operations of Banco Filipino, the anomalies were committed under the control and directive of the central bank through its comptroller," the law firm said. "After all these years, did you hear them say anything like that?" Roque added. On Roque's affiliation with Banco Filipino, the statement also said the bank enlisted Roque's services only in July 2010, and that the legal fees his firm received from Banco Filipino do not even amount to 1 percent of the P245 million "maliciously" imputed by the central bank. “In fact, Roque stated that his firm has legal fees unpaid by Banco Filipino amounting to half a million pesos," according to the statement, explaining that the BSP has access to Banco Filipino documents declaring the amounts that the bank paid his firm. The Palace had earlier expressed its "satisfaction" with the BSP's closure of Banco Filipino. The country’s three biggest business groups have also declared their support for the BSP decision. — MRT/VS, GMA News