• Menu
  • Menu
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Gold/Forex
  • Subscribe now
    Digital subscription Print+Digital (Bundle) ePaper subscription
  • Logout
Digital subscription
Print+Digital (Bundle)
ePaper subscription
Trending
UAE holidays 2023 Golf in UAE Ramadan Hong Kong trade
  • Latest News
  • UAE Success Stories
  • UAE
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Government
    • Health
      • Why Worry
    • Transport
    • Science
    • Ramadan
      • UAE Ramadan Prayer Time Table 2023
      • GCC Prayer Timings
    • Weather
    • Ask the Law
    • Reader Complaint
  • Living In UAE
    • Visa+Immigration
    • Housing
    • Phone+Internet
    • Banking
    • Transport
    • Health
    • Education
    • Relocate
    • Ask Us
    • Safety+Security
  • Business
    • Banking
    • Aviation
    • Property
    • Energy
    • Analysis
    • Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Corporate News
  • Best Buys
    • Electronics
    • Home and Kitchen
    • Offers
    • Consumables
    • Lifestyle
  • Your Money
    • Saving and Investment
    • Budget Living
    • Taxation
    • Expert Columns
    • Community Tips
    • Cryptocurrency
  • Food
    • Cooking and Cuisines
    • Guide to Cooking
    • Videos
  • Friday
    • Beauty
    • Wellbeing
    • Art & People
    • Home
  • Games
    • Daily Crossword
    • Sudoku
    • Word Search
    • Spell It
    • Play
  • Parenting
    • Pregnancy & Baby
    • Learning & Play
    • Child Health
    • For Mums & Dads
    • Ask Us
    • Games
  • World
    • Gulf
      • Bahrain
      • Kuwait
      • Oman
      • Qatar
      • Saudi
      • Yemen
      • Games
    • Mena
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
      • India
      • Pakistan
      • Philippines
    • Oceania
    • Offbeat
    • Coronavirus
    • Special Reports
    • Corrections
    • 2022 in review
  • Opinion
    • Op-Eds
    • Letters
    • From the Editors
  • Play Games
  • Magical Dubai
    • Dubai Life
    • Live the Luxury
    • Culture and History
    • Adventure
    • Staying Connected
  • Special Reports
  • Photos
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Sports
  • Sport
    • UAE Sport
    • Horse Racing
      • Dubai World Cup
    • Cricket
      • IPL
        • Chennai
        • Delhi
        • Punjab
        • Kolkata
        • Mumbai
        • Rajasthan
        • Bangalore
        • Hyderabad
        • Gujarat
        • Lucknow
        • Live Scores
        • Point Table
        • Top Scorers
      • ICC
      • T20 World Cup 2022
    • Motorsport
    • Football
      • Qatar World Cup 2022
    • Tennis
    • Rugby
    • Golf in UAE
      • UAE
      • World
      • Photos & Videos
      • Course Reviews
      • Learn to Play
      • Gear
  • Entertainment
    • Hollywood
    • Bollywood
    • Pakistani Cinema
    • South Indian
    • Arab Celebs
    • Music
    • TV
    • Books
    • Theatre
    • Arts+Culture
  • Expo 2020
  • Going Out
  • Auto
  • Lifestyle
    • Health+Fitness
    • Community
    • Fashion
  • GN Reach
  • Jobs
  • Tech
    • Electronics
    • Gaming
    • Media
  • Videos
    • How-To
    • Best Of Bollywood
    • News
    • Entertainment
    • Business
    • Sport
    • Community
    • Technology
  • Travel
  • GN Focus
    • Special Features
  • Mind Your Migraine
  • 50 MENA Leaders
  • The Kurator
    • Share
    • Dare
    • Flair
  • Gold-Forex
  • Gratuity Calculator
  • Notifications
  • Gold/Forex
  • Prayer Times
  • Cinema Listing
  • GN Store
  • About Gulf News
  • Contact us
  • Work with us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Reach by GN
  • GN Focus
  • Gulf News epaper
  • Sitemap
  • Have your say
  • Printing Services
  • © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2023. All rights reserved.
    Philippines: Short list of top financial scams, central bank cracks the whip on fraud, money laundering

    Business

    Login / Sign Up
    Logout
    Saturday, March 25, 2023
    Gold / Forex

    Business

    • Banking
    • Aviation
    • Property
    • Energy
    • Analysis
    • Tourism
    • Markets
    • Retail
    • Corporate News
    All Sections

    Philippines: Short list of top financial scams, central bank cracks the whip on fraud, money laundering

    Asian country's central bank heightens drive against financial fraud


    Published:  December 12, 2021 19:59 Jay Hilotin, Senior Assistant Editor

    1 of 14
    Governor Benjamin Diokno
    TIGHTENING OVERSIGHT: On Sunday (December 12 2021), Philippine central bank governor Benjamin Diokno (photo above) said they are looking into complaints that some clients of BDO, the country’s biggest lender, lost money to online fraudsters that involved the use of Union Bank of the Philippines (UBP) accounts. “We are in close coordination with BDO as well as UBP on this incident to ensure remedial measures are being undertaken, including reimbursement of affected consumers,” the central bank chief said in a statement. The central monetary authority vowed to “ensure the safety and integrity of the financial system as well as the protection of financial consumers,” he added. Diokno added the regulators are on “top” of the situation. Image Credit: PNA
    2 of 14
    Unionbank of the Philippines Bank Philippines
    CRACKDOWN: BSP Governor Diokno said Sunday they have been monitoring a surge in complaints for a week. As a result, UBP froze "several accounts”. UnionBank President Edwin Bautista told Bloomberg: “We will not hesitate to take legal action against individuals who use their accounts to facilitate criminal activities.” One account used 5 million pesos ($99,280) in stolen funds to buy Bitcoin on December 11, according to Philippine media reports. Image Credit: Facebook
    3 of 14
    1.2248106-3352348589
    SPIKE IN ONLINE BANKING TRANSACTIONS: The Philippine central bank has reported a 5,000% jump in digital transactions in the Asian country. Given the huge spike in online banking and other financial transactions, new research from TransUnion found fraudsters are ramping up their activities in the financial services industry. In a blog post earlier this year, the global risk-assessment company analysed transactions originating from the Philippines — and saw that the rate of suspected digital fraud attempts against financial services companies increased 50.39% in the first four months of 2021 compared to the last four months of 2020. Globally, suspected financial services digital fraud attempts increased by 149%. Image Credit: Supplied
    4 of 14
    Philippine pesos bills pesos 1,000 php
    85 CASES, RAMPING UP MONEY LAUNDERING FIGHT: On November 5, 2021, the Philippines Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) reported that 85 criminal and civil cases involving about P1.31 billion had been filed from January to August 2021 as the country ramped up its fight against money launderers and terror financing. Following are some of leading financial fraud cases in the Philippines: Image Credit: Gulf News
    5 of 14
    CYBER-HEIST-PHILIPPINES-(Read-Only)
    CYBER BANK HEIST [$81 million in losses]: In February 2016, unknown criminals used fraudulent orders on the SWIFT system to steal the funds from the Bangladesh’s central bank account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In January 2019, a Philippine court held a former bank manager guilty on eight counts of money laundering in which $81 million was stolen from Bangladesh’s central bank. The court sentenced Maia Deguito (photo above), a former branch manager at Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), to a jail term ranging from 32 to 56 years, with each count carrying four to seven years. Image Credit: Reuters
    6 of 14
    1.2139669-3887455909
    BANK FINED PHP1 BILLION: Maia Deguito, the ex-branch manager of RCBC, was also ordered to pay a total fine of about $109 million. RCBC was fined a record Php1 billion ($19.17 million) by the Philippine central bank in August 2016 for its failure to prevent the movement of the stolen money through the bank. A former treasurer of RCBC and five other workers at the branch where the cash was withdrawn faced money laundering charges. Image Credit: Reuters
    7 of 14
    Philippines Manila
    WATCH LIST: Paris-based global watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reincluded the Philippines in the gray list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring last June 25 citing technical deficiencies raised by the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) under its October 2019 Mutual Evaluation Report (MER). File photo shows the Manila City Hall in the foreground. Image Credit: AP
    8 of 14
    1.2215119-4019547491
    BANCAP SCAM [Php900 million in losses]. This was a well-known Treasury bill scam ran by Marilyn Nite, president of Bank Capital Development Corp. who victimised banks and investors by selling Treasury bills several times over, with different individuals believing they were the owners of the same T-bill. The scam was so well orchestrated that Nite — who was aided in her operations by Nunelon Bradley and Vicky Magalona-Escalambre — got away with P2.5 billion (approximately $200 million). What hooked the victims: the T-bills peddled by Bancap offered 12% higher rates than those brought from other sources. Nite ran off with the money to the US, reportedly using a fake passport under the name of Marilyn Perez. FBI agents caught her in 1997, and was extradited to the Philippines. Residents walk along a pedestrian lane in Manila, Philippines. Image Credit: Reuters
    9 of 14
    Philippines Makati skyline
    FRANKSWISS & DEUTSCHFRANKS SCAM [Php1 billion in losses]: FrancSwiss appeared very promising at the start with its high-yielding investment products producing 4–5% income per day for its investors in early 2007. But just like other investment scams, the program shut down. A month before its closure, media reports were already warning people not to invest and for current investors to pull out their money. However, the scam still led to P1 billion loss. The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) eventually sued the company’s chief financial adviser with estafa. File photo of Makati, Manila's central financial district. Image Credit: Shutterstock
    10 of 14
    fraud in UAE
    12DAILYPRO SCAM [$500 million in losses]: 12DP was an “autosurf program", which opened in 2005. It assured members with 12% daily return on their funds for 12 days where they run a program to automatically view certain websites and supposedly create advertising revenue. But in early 2006, the 12DP was failed to settle its maturing investments, eventually leading to its downfall. The owner was said to have taken away $500 million of the investors’ money. Image Credit: Shutterstock
    11 of 14
    20211005 celso
    LEGACY INSURANCE SCAM [Php 30 billion/$591 million in losses]: Celso de los Angeles masterminded the Legacy insurance and pension scam. In 2008, it fascinated a lot of Filipinos to invest as legacy banks offered “double your money” schemes. The pyramid then collapsed the same year with P30 billion loss. Angeles was jailed for numerous cases of syndicated estafa. He died of cancer in 2012. Image Credit: Investorjuan
    12 of 14
    Manuel Amalilio
    AMAN FUTURES GROUP [Php12 billion/$295 million in estimated losses]: In 2012, Aman Futures Group duped over 15,000 investors across Visayas and Mindanao to invest in a pyramid scheme centered in commodities trading investments with 80% return in just 20 days. Pagadian City Mayor Samuel Co and his wife were charged with syndicated estafa in November 2012 for alleged involvement in the investment scam. Manuel Amalilio, founder of Aman Futures, was caught in Sabah, Malaysia after pleading guilty, where he was also sentenced with two-year imprisonment. Image Credit: Contributed photo
    13 of 14
    Where to invest forex
    PERFORMANCE INVESTMENT PRODUCTS CORP. SCAM [Php11 billion in losses]: PIPC was an online forex trading service in 2007 that fooled many Filipino investors with its 10–15% return. PIPC did not appear to be a Ponzi or pyramid scam, but the investment program still crumbled, leaving P11 billion loss. Its Singaporean owner went off, allegedly taking most of the company’s funds. Image Credit: Shutterstock
    14 of 14
    Trees line streets in Manila. A scene on the Roxas Boulevard
    ILLEGAL FUNDS TRANSFER [Php12 million in losses]: On April 18, 2018, a liaison officer and secretary to the president of a chemical trader-distributor was convicted for 55 counts of money laundering based on findings of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). A 56-page decision of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Quezon City, found Annabella C. Ylagan guilty of 55 counts of money laundering, and sentenced her to seven (7) years’ imprisonment for each count. Ylagan was convicted for transferring funds from her employer’s accounts in 3 banks to an account she opened under a fictitious name “Lourdes R. Liu”. Ylagan’s modus operandi involved routing faxing of forged letters of authority, instructing banks to transfer funds from her employer’s accounts to her own fictitious accounts. Ylagan was found to have amassed Php12 million over a 4-year period. Image Credit: Jay Hilotin / Gulf News

    Trending

    • Air India to drop 'Express' flights from UAE to Mumbai

      Air India to drop 'Express' flights from UAE to Mumbai


    • UAE Central Bank launches Digital Dirham strategy
      Update

      UAE Central Bank launches Digital Dirham strategy


    • Emirates cancels flights to and from Munich, Frankfurt

      Emirates cancels flights to and from Munich, Frankfurt


    • 3 top Chinese car brands enter UAE in 7 days

      3 top Chinese car brands enter UAE in 7 days


    • Dorsey’s wealth tumbles $526m after Hindenburg short

      Dorsey’s wealth tumbles $526m after Hindenburg short


    • Nasdaq eyes crypto custody launch by end of Q2

      Nasdaq eyes crypto custody launch by end of Q2

    Latest In

    • EU, Germany reach deal on car emissions

      11 minutes ago

    • Tristar Group donates Dh5 million to ‘1 Billion Meals’

      22 minutes ago

    • Abu Dhabi intensifies Ramadan food inspection

      29 minutes ago

    • Hedge fund marathon made $30m on Credit Suisse bet

      35 minutes ago

    • Beware of domestic labour fraud, Saudi Arabia warns

      48 minutes ago

    Go back to top
    Network links:
    • Friday
    • Watch Time
    • getthat
    • Jobs
    • GN Store
    • About Gulf News
    • Contact us
    • Work with us
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Advertise with us
    • Reach by GN
    • GN Focus
    • Gulf News epaper
    • Sitemap
    • Have your say
    • Printing Services
    Find us on Social
    © Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2023. All rights reserved.
    This website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you. Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our Privacy Policy.
    Share on Facebook
    Share on Twitter
    Share on Whatsapp
    Share on Mail
    Share on LinkedIn
    Close
    Gulf News

    Get Breaking News Alerts From Gulf News

    We’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.

    Subscribe No Thanks
    Continue reading Gulf News
    Dear Reader, please register to read gulfnews.com

    Dear Reader,

    This section is about Living in UAE and essential information you cannot live without.

    Register to read and get full access to gulfnews.com

    Create your account
    or login if you already have one
    First name is required.
    Last name is required.
    Please enter a valid email address.
    Password should have minimum 7 characters with at least one letter and number
    Passwords do not match

    By clicking below to sign up, you're agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

    Login your account
    New to Gulf News? Sign up now
    Please enter your email address.
    Please enter your password.

    Forgot password

    or