Hold departure order issued vs ex-bank exec accused of P135M embezzlement

MANILA, Philippines—A Manila court has issued a hold departure order against Bryan Ang, a former Citibank executive and a son of city councilor, for allegedly stealing over P100 million from the bank accounts of his clients, court papers said.

Judge Josefina Siscar of the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 55 recently issued a hold departure order against Ang, who has remained at large.

“Records show that the case involved had no bail status and the amount involves a large sum (of money) for which motive for flight is great. In view thereof, the Motion for the Issuance of a Hold Departure Order is hereby granted,” Judge Siscar said in her order.

Ang, the eldest son of Manila 3rd district councilor Bernie Ang, has been charged with 87 counts of qualified theft through falsification of commercial documents.

An arrest warrant was earlier issued by Siscar against him, with no bail recommended.

Ang, was charged in court by the DOJ for qualified theft under Article 310 of the Revised Penal Code for allegedly embezzling about P135 million of his clients’ money.

DOJ prosecutors filed the case based on Ang’s admission that he tampered with bank documents in handling the transactions of his clients.

Ang earlier confessed he simulated transactions, including fund transfers, cash withdrawals and applications for manager’s checks by forging the signatures of clients in bank documents and appropriating the funds as his own in transferring the money to his intended beneficiaries, which included the accounts of his other clients in order to meet the rate of return he promised to them.

Court records showed that Ang’s illegal activities were discovered by the bank when it conducted a review of the transactions at its Binondo branch in July 2010.