Gatchalian says bank affiliate disowns certification for Pogo auditor

FILE PHOTO: Senator Sherwin Gatchalian. (Senate PRIB)

MANILA, Philippines — An affiliate of Soleil Chartered Bank disowned the certification it allegedly issued for a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) auditor, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian revealed Friday, citing the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

An earlier hearing revealed that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) hired a third-party Pogo auditor, Global ComRCI.

READ: Questions over Pagcor-hired POGO auditor

Pagcor presented a bank certification supposedly issued by Soleil Chartered Bank to Global ComRCI to back the auditor’s legitimacy.

“It can be deduced clearly from the BSP letter that Global ComRCI submitted a spurious bank certificate to PAGCOR,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

“This brings to question not just the legitimacy of the contract but also the credibility of Global ComRCI to conduct a 3rd-party audit of POGO gaming revenues,” he added.

READ: Gov’t ‘tricked’ by POGO auditor, senators say

Global ComRCI is in a P6-billion 10-year contract with Pagcor to conduct an independent audit of Pogos’ gross gaming revenues.

Under Pagcor’s terms of reference, an entity must have a P1-billion capital requirement. Based on the bank certification, Global ComRCI has P1.2 billion capital.

In the letter written by BSP Governor Felipe Medalla to Gatchalian, the former said that Soleil Capitale, Soleil Chartered Bank’s affiliate, stressed that the bank is overseas-based and does not operate within the Philippines.

Medalla likewise said that Soleil Capitale has no record of such a bank guarantee.

The BSP governor further noted that Soleil Chartered Bank does not have a pending application for a banking license.

The BSP said that other discrepancies in the bank certification also include the bank logo used in the document.

Gatchalian earlier expressed dismay over the “credibility issues” of Global ComRCI.

KGA/abc