MANILA, Philippines - The squabble between the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and businessman Roberto Ongpin heated up yesterday, with the former trade minister pushing through with court cases this week against a senior central bank official, and this time, versus the country’s anti-money laundering chief.
“We now give notice that, in addition to the criminal complaint which is going to be filed this week against Mr. Espenilla, our client intends to file additional suits (both criminal and civil) against Mr. Vicente Aquino (the executive director of the AMLC Secretariat),†said Ongpin’s legal counsel, Alex Poblador, in a statement.
He was pertaining to BSP Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr., who the central bank defended on Tuesday in connection with the freezing of Ongpin’s bank accounts by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC). AMLC groups BSP, the Insurance Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Both Espenilla and Aquino declined to comment on Ongpin’s legal threats.
The case stemmed from Ongpin’s resignation as director of the Philippine Bank of Communications (PBCom) last week after BSP “deferred†his confirmation. The deferment came after legal questions were thrown against Ongpin’s purchase of Philex Mining Corp. shares using loan proceeds from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
Despite saying that the transaction was “positive†for DBP— Poblador said profits of P1.4 billion was realized— the lawyer noted Espenilla still signed the AMLC petition asking the Court of Appeals to freeze his client’s bank accounts.
In an earlier statement, BSP said Espenilla merely acted in behalf of BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr., who is also AMLC chairman who was “away on official business†during the time the petition was taken up.
“The BSP points out that Mr. Espenilla has more than 30 years of experience as a central banker. Mr. Ongpin believes that Mr. Espenilla should have used that experience to make a correct judgment on the matter,†Poblador said.