RCBC to appeal denial of motion to dismiss case vs. Bangladesh Bank

MANILA, Philippines — Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) will continue to appeal the denial of its motion to summarily dismiss a case filed by Bangladesh Bank relating to the $81 million cyberheist in 2016 after the New York court maintained jurisdiction over the scandal.

In a regulatory filing, RCBC said a decision and order released by the Supreme Court of New York, the first instance trial court, denied the bank and its current and past individual employee-defendants’ motion to summarily dismiss the case filed by Bangladesh Bank.

On May 27, 2022, Bangladesh Bank, the South Asian country’s central bank and monetary authority, filed another complaint against RCBC, its officers and other parties before the Supreme Court of New York relating to the alleged theft of  $81 million from its account at the US Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2016.

However, RCBC said the court ruling is not a decision on the merits of the case and is not in any way a finding of liability on the part of RCBC or any of the individual defendants.

“The ruling of the New York Court merely resolved the jurisdictional issues on whether the case initiated by Bangladesh Bank can actually be heard in New York instead of in the Philippines notwithstanding that most of the witnesses to the case and evidence to be presented will be from the Philippines,” the bank said.

“It also exercised its discretion to find that New York is a convenient forum to try the case,” it said.

According to the New York Court, the advent of technology now allows persons and evidence found in the Philippines to be examined on the opposite side of the globe.

The case was filed against 17 individuals including those from RCBC, Philrem Service Corp., Centurytex Trading, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc., Solaire Resort & Casino, Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company Ltd., and Midas Hotel & Casino.

The complaint is for conversion, theft, misappropriation; aiding and abetting the same; conspiracy to commit the same; fraud; conspiracy to commit trespass against chattels; unjust enrichment; and return of money received.

The New York Court also directed the parties to mediate the dispute.

“RCBC will continue to defend the case vigorously and is considering all options, including the possibility of an appeal against the denial of the motion to dismiss,” the bank said.

Further, RCBC argued that what remains unexplained until today is what actually happened within the walls of Bangladesh Bank.

“It has not released any report of the incident and has repeatedly pointed fingers at other parties instead of revealing what truly occurred within the confines of their offices and people they control,” RCBC said.

The Bangladesh cyber heist happened in February 2016 when unknown criminals used fraudulent orders on the Swift payments system to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh central bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

The money was sent to fictitious accounts at RCBC’s Jupiter branch in Makati City. It went to local casinos through Philrem.