No incident report yet on euro generals from Russia

MANILA -- Sen. Mar Roxas lamented yesterday that neither the Russian government nor its ambassador in the country has formally communicated with the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the seizure of the undeclared 105,000 euros or P6.9 million from retired police comptroller Eliseo de la Paz by Russian authorities in a Moscow airport last month.

“There is no response yet from the Russian government to our office or through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),” Roxas said.

Roxas said even the DFA has not received any official report on the Oct. 11 incident in Moscow despite requests of various senators and agencies of the government.

“The response, if any, will be coursed through DFA since the Russian ambassador advised them so,” Roxas added.

He said his office remains optimistic that it will get a formal response at least from the Russian Embassy in Manila.

Roxas had earlier asked Russian authorities to provide information to help the Senate in its ongoing investigation into the so-called “euro generals” controversy.

De la Paz and his wife Marife were held at Moscow airport last Oct. 11 for carrying the undeclared euros after they attended the 77th Interpol General Assembly in St. Petersburg, Russia.

De la Paz, who claimed responsibility for violating requirements in withdrawing the money from the PNP intelligence fund, and the other so-called “euro generals” are now being investigated by the House of Representatives, the Senate and the Ombudsman.

In a letter to Russian Ambassador to Manila Vitaliy Vorobiev, Roxas sought copies of official reports and other relevant documents related to the Russian customs authorities’ detention of De la Paz and his wife.

Roxas acted as chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee that ordered the arrest of De la Paz after the retired police official snubbed its investigation into the controversy.  

“I am particularly interested if any charge has been filed in Russia against PNP Director De la Paz,” Roxas noted in his letter to Vorobiev.

“We asked the help of the Russians in getting information on this controversy. They started this case when they arrested one of our police generals, and they may have additional information that will complete the Senate investigation,” he said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa is relying on the statement of the Russia-based lawyer of De la Paz that the 105,000 euros will be returned to the PNP soon.

Verzosa admitted that the PNP has still no idea where is the money, which was released to De la Paz without proper authority.

“Well, the lawyer of Gen. De la Paz (in Russia) said the money will be returned so we are waiting for it,” said Verzosa during Wednesday’s PNP Media Night. “We are also waiting for a copy of the official report of Russian authorities on the incident.”

Based on the electronic mail (email) last Nov. 9, Alex Binetskiy, De la Paz’s lawyer in Russia, told his Filipino lawyer Noel Malaya that the investigation on the euros was completed and everyone was cleared. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jessa Ortega