BPI Executive Indicted by DOJ in Wirecard Dispute

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended the indictment of an executive of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) having found probable cause in his role in the $2.1 billion Wirecard AG scandal.

The DOJ has released a statement saying that Joey Dela Cruz Arellano (alias Joey Cruz Arellano) will be charged with four counts of falsification of bank certificates and two counts of violation of Section 55.1 (a) concerning Section 56.1 of the Republic Act (RA) 8971 (The General Banking Act of 2010) concerning Section 36 of RA 7653, as amended by RA 11211 or the New Central Bank Act.

Last May 2021, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed a complaint against Arellano, Wirecard AG’s Chief Operating Officer Jan Marsalek, lawyer and former DOT Assistant Secretary Mark Kristopher G. Tolentino, Judith Singayan Pe, and several others.

The charges against Marsalek, Tolentino, Pe, and others were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

The investigation of the NBI was brought about by a complaint filed by the BPI alleging that Tolentino submitted fake bank documents to an auditing firm to prove that Wirecard had 1.9 billion euros in their trust accounts.

Tolentino was connected to the scandal after his law firm, M.K. Tolentino Law & Business Consultancy Office, admitted to maintaining and opening foreign currency deposit accounts with BPI and BDO. They refused to give the names of their clients and cited the confidentiality required by the Foreign Currency Deposit Act.

Tolentino’s camp denies participating or having knowledge of any irregularities on the side of Wirecard’s money.

Source: Business Mirror