Three Romanian skimmers charged; no bail allowed

CEBU, Philippines - Three Romanian nationals were indicted of at least five criminal charges in court in relation to their alleged involvement in the unauthorized withdrawals from the automated teller machines using skimming devices.

Deputy city prosecutor Maria Theresa Casiño found probable cause to indict Costel Ion, Ionut Alexandru Mitrache, and Razvan Aurelian Stancu for violations of Section 9(c) of Republic Act (RA) 8484 or Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998 and Article 308 (theft) in relation to Article 309 of the Revised Penal Code which are non-bailable.

The other charges include violations of Sections 9(e)(f)(j) of RA 8484 or possession and use of counterfeit access and skimming devices. The prosecutor’s office recommended P64,000 bail for the three charges.

The three accused were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation following a complaint from the Land Bank of the Philippines because of authorized ATM withdrawals.

An official from LBP-Capitol branch requested an investigation after discovering that a large number of its depositors have fallen victims to ATM skimming. A separate complaint was also filed by Marie Fe Frances Seville-Ang who claimed to have lost P150,101 to skimmers.

A closed-circuit television footage provided by the bank shows one of the accused disembarked from a red mustang. Based on the investigation conducted by the NBI, the vehicle was bought by Costel but registered under the name of Anka Loredano Pupesco, whose address is at Padgett Place, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.

 A raid conducted by the NBI agents led by Special Investigator Florante Gaoiran resulted in the arrest of Costel and the two other accused. The NBI also seized several skimming devices as well as the vehicle used in their illegal operation.

Another suspect, Mircea Iordan alias Jozsef Gal, eluded arrest but a separate complaint was filed against him. The complaint, however, is still pending at the prosecutor’s office because of procedural requirements.

Lawyer Christopher Ruiz, one of the counsels for the accused, said they have yet to receive a copy of the resolution. He said they will study their next legal option as soon as they receive the copy. (FREEMAN)