Senate resumes dirty money probe—this time, with Kim Wong

Chinese businessman Kim Wong attends the Senate probe into the $81-million money laundering scheme. CATHY MIRANDA/INQUIRER.net

The Senate blue ribbon committee resumed on Tuesday its investigation on the $81-million money laundering controversy, this time with Chinese businessman Kam Sin Wong, also known as Kim Wong, at the witness stand.

But even before he faced the Senate probe, Wong already denied in various media interviews his involvement on the laundering of $81 million funds allegedly stolen by computer hackers from the US account of the Bank of Bangladesh (BB).

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“I am not involved in money laundering,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Wong as saying.

The businessman was tagged by Maia Santos-Deguito, former manager of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) on Jupiter Street, Makati City, as the one who allegedly instructed her to open bank accounts for five individuals — Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, Enrico Teodoro Vasquez, and William So Go.

The bank account holders reportedly received and withdrew the stolen funds from BB, which were later transferred to the accounts of a certain Weikang Xu, believed to be involved in the gaming business as a junket operator, and to Eastern Hawaii Leisure Co. Ltd. and Bloomberry (Solaire operator).

Wong is reportedly the incorporator of Eastern Hawaii Leisure, which operates a hotel-casino complex at the Cagayan Special Economic Zone.

Deguito was also invited in the hearing but lawyer Rene Saguisag earlier said in a statement Monday that she could not attend the hearing because of “health problems.”

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The former branch manager had already appeared and testified in the first two hearings of the committee.

Aside from Wong and Deguito, other officials of RCBC, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Philrem Service Corporation and other individuals and representatives of entities being dragged into the controversy were also invited as resource persons in the hearing. IDL