DOJ to summon Kim Wong, Weikang Xu over $81-M laundering

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to summon Chinese businessmen Kam Sin Wong alias Kim Wong and Weikang Xu over the criminal complaint filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) in connection with the $80.9 million stolen from the Bangladesh Bank and laundered into the Philippines.

Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said a preliminary investigation would be conducted on the complaint filed by AMLC.

The case against Kim Wong and Weikang Xu, according to Arellano, has been consolidated to the complaint filed by AMLC against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. branch manager Maia Santos-Deguito and four others.

“The latest AMLC complaint (against Wong and Xu) will be consolidated to the (Deguito) case,” Arellano, head of the DOJ’s prosecutorial arm, said.

He said Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamarra would handle both cases.

Earlier, the DOJ summoned Deguito to attend the preliminary investigation set on April 12 and 19.

“A separate subpoena will be issued in the next few days for Wong and Xu,” he said. Once a subpoena is issued, the two will be required to appear before the prosecutor and submit their counter-affidavit in response to the complaint filed by AMLC.

Based on the complaint, about $21.6 million went to Wong while Xu got $59.2 million.

The AMLC had filed a similar complaint against Deguito and the four owners of the accounts where the laundered money was deposited: Michael Francisco Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Santos Vergara, and Enrico Teodoro Vasquez.

The council included the four individuals in the complaint despite an initial finding that these names might be fictitious. RC

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