Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, counsel of former Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito, dared bank President Lorenzo Tan on Tuesday to “man up” and face him instead of filing a case against him and his client regarding the $81-million funds stolen by hackers from Bangladesh Bank (BB).
Topacio and Deguito have been slapped with a P32-million civil suit by Tan.
READ: RCBC president sues Deguito for P32-M
Tan said Deguito and her counsel “conjured together to make public imputations of money laundering offenses and dishonorable conduct against him, despite the blatant admission of Deguito that she directly handled the money laundering transactions.”
He said the allegations made by Deguito and her counsel were “mere assumptions” that he oversaw and allowed the questionable transactions to push through.
Tan has already taken a voluntary leave of absence from the bank to avoid any perception of undue influence on the ongoing internal investigation.
READ: RCBC chief goes on leave amid $81M dirty money probe
When asked about the case filed against him and his client, Topacio said, “Okay lang ‘yun. Bulok na style na ‘yun.”
“That [case] is very lame. Ang tunay na lalaki, if tingin mo you were slighted by another man, eh face to face na lang,” Topacio told reporters.
During the preliminary investigation, Deguito sought more time to answer the complaint filed against her by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Deguito and four others are facing a case for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
Assistant State Prosecutor Gilmari Fe Pacamara gave Deguito up to May 3 to submit her counter-affidavit. JE
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