MANILA: The Philippines’ anti-money laundering agency said on Monday it would conduct a “swift and thorough” investigation into scandal-hit German payments firm Wirecard and that it has drawn up an initial list of people and entities of interest.
Wirecard’s collapse last week and admission that US$2.1 bil (RM9 bil) of its cash probably didn’t exist came after auditor EY refused to sign off on accounts for 2019, adding there were clear indications of an elaborate fraud involving multiple parties around the world.
Manila became involved after the German firm initially claimed it kept the US$2.1 bil in two Philippine banks.
Mel Georgie Racela, executive director of the Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), said entities of interest include three local firms – Centurion Online Payment International, PayEasy Solutions and ConePay International.
“As we continue to monitor developments and dig further, we may be able to identify more entities and individuals,” he said.
The Financial Times in March 2019 said the three firms were Wirecard partners but their relationship to Wirecard could not be determined.
PayEasy did not immediately respond to e-mails and its telephone was disconnected. Centurion’s number was out of service and ConePay could not be reached for comment, with no contact details on its website or its annual filing with the corporate regulator.
Wirecard Philippines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno, who chairs the AMLC, declined to say who else the probe might look at.
The central bank has said no money from Wirecard entered the Philippines’ financial system. The local lenders named by the German firm – the Bank of the Philippines Islands and Banco de Oro Unibank – have also said they are not clients.
Wirecard chief executive Markus Braun was arrested in Germany last week and has been released on bail. German media have reported that German prosecutors will also seek the arrest of Jan Marsalek, its former chief operating officer.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra had said Marsalek was in the Philippines on June 23 and immigration records showed he flew to China from Cebu the next day.
But Guevarra added that Marsalek was not captured leaving the country on airport surveillance cameras and there is no record of a flight to China from Cebu on June 24, suggesting he may still be in the Philippines. – June 29, 2020, Reuters
