A Chinese junket operator in the Philippines capital Manila yesterday told a senate hearing that two high-rollers from Beijing and Macau had brought $81m that had been stolen from Bangladesh's central bank into the Philippines.
Kam Sin Wong, who lives in the Philippines, denied any wrongdoing and told the hearing he had no knowledge of who had perpetrated the cyber heist, but said he would return $4.63m in cash.
Unidentified hackers infiltrated the computer systems of Bangladesh Bank in February and attempted to steal $951m from a Federal Reserve Bank of New York accounts. While many transfers failed, $81m in stolen cash found its way to casinos in Manila.
Wong denied any involvement but named two Chinese men from Beijing and Macau who he said “brought in” the $81m.
"I have nothing to do with the forging of bank documents for the $81m. I don't know the source of the $81m," he told the hearing.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the Philippines' Anti-Money Laundering Council, $21m of the stolen funds ended up in a Philippine bank account of Eastern Hawaii, a company run by Wong,
Wong said he was owed around $10m by one of the Chinese men after helping him settle a casino debt and that the rest was used to buy gambling chips for junket clients.
He also said he had received a further $5m in stolen money via a foreign exchange broker, of which he still had $4.63m, and that he was willing to return.
Source: Reuters
