Kim Wong: Deguito opened fake accounts, took money out

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 6:10 p.m.) — Chinese businessman Kim Wong (Kam Sin Wong) told senators probing money laundering on Tuesday afternoon that it was dismissed Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito who opened the fictitious bank accounts and made sure money that went through them was taken out of the bank.

In a statement read before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Wong said that he referred one of the foreigners—a certain Sua Hua Gao—to Deguito because Gao wanted to open an account with RCBC. He said Gao is a junket agent whom he has known for a long time.

"Isang foreigner lang ang ni-refer ko kay Maia. Mayroon po akong pangalan at litrato po," Wong said, adding the documents were in a sealed envelope that he would submit to the committee. He later named Sua Hua Gao when pressed by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.

Wong said that he met with Deguito and Gao because Gao wanted to open a dollar account. He said that Dequito then told Gao to instead open a corporate account, which would require five people. He that Dequito assured Gao that she would take care of things when the client found that opening an account seemed too difficult. He said that Deguito asked Gao for $2,500 to open the account.

"Si Maia at Philrem ang gumawa ng paraan para mailabas ang pera sa bangko," he also said.

Deguito, who was not at the Senate on Tuesday, has denied involvement in the alleged money laundering and insisted in a past hearing that money that went into an account supposedly maintained by businessman William Go was withdrawn by Go himself.

Go has said that the account is not his and RCBC has said its internal investigation found that the bank documents for the RCBC Jupiter account and the withdrawal slip for the money were likely not signed by Go, who has a corporate at another RCBC branch.

Bank officer Romualdo Agarrado, who worked at RCBC Jupiter at the time, said that he saw money withdrawn from the Go account on February 5 put in a paper bag and loaded onto Deguito's car. Wong said he met Deguito at Solaire casino on the evening of February 5.

Wong also said that of the $81 million allegedly stolen from the central bank of Bangladesh and laundered in the Philippines, around $63 million went to Solaire and Midas casinos, with around $17 million still with Philrem Service Corp. Philrem, represented by owners Salud and Concon Bautista, denied that it kept any of the money, saying the company delivered it all.

"I delivered everything. I didn't keep a single centavo," Concon told senators. 

The hearing is ongoing as of this post.  — Jonathan de Santos