Wanted Deutsche Bank executive freed in US over DOJ inaction

MANILA, Philippines - The lawyer of an investor bared yesterday that a Deutsche Bank executive wanted in the country for a multi-million syndicated estafa case pending at the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) was arrested last month in the US but the suspect was released last week purportedly due to inaction by the Department of Justice.

Jose Bernas, counsel of one of complainants in the criminal case pending before Makati RTC Branch 143, said Deutsche Bank executive Cecille Chan was released last May 10, or just over two weeks after agents of the US Customs and Border Protection arrested her at the Toronto Pre-Clearance in Toronto, Canada while trying to cross to the US last April 24.

Bernas said over the weekend the release of Chan by US federal authorities was due to the failure of the DOJ to immediately act on the request for extradition of the suspect.

US authorities arrested Chan pursuant to an Interpol red notice based on arrest warrants issued by Makati RTC in connection with the large-scale syndicated estafa case filed in September last year against her and two other Deutsche Bank executives identified as Kenneth Toong and Patrick Sze.

Under the rules, the DOJ should move for the extradition of persons who face criminal cases here.

An urgent notice from Interpol Washington to Interpol Manila informed the DOJ of Chan’s arrest on that same day.

US authorities made a clear request: “Please note that the subject’s detention is temporary only, therefore, your immediate response is required.”

Bernas said DOJ officials failed to make the necessary and formal request for Chan’s extradition or extension of her provisional arrest within 15 days after the arrest. This failure prompted US authorities to release the fugitive.

“This is a bungled opportunity to have an arrested fugitive extradited to the country and face trial,” Bernas lamented, as he raised the possible political connections with the Philippine government of Deutsche Bank officials.

Bernas made a request to the DOJ for the extradition of Chan, but was also ignored.

He said a DOJ official whom he did not identify told him that the justice department did not act on the case due to the pending appeal of Chan and her co-accused before the Makati RTC.

Bernas questioned why the DOJ had earlier pressed for the arrest of Sen. Panfilo Lacson and also the extradition of former Senior Superintendent Michael Ray Aquino in connection with the killings of publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito in 2000 when the case was similarly pending in the trial court.

Both Toong and Sze remain at large with whereabouts unknown.

Chan, Toong, and Sze were accused of misrepresenting that Deutsche Bank Hong Kong and Singapore possessed licenses to engage in foreign exchange options trading in the Philippines.

Bernas said the three induced huge amounts of investments through disinformation and were able to convince their clients that the only way to recover losses in abnormal occurrences was to invest more money.

The Deutsche Bank executives were able to swindle millions from their unsuspecting victims who fell prey to the foreign exchange trading scam, he added.

Hong Kong authorities also arrested two other senior Deutsche Bank staffers last April 15. Two of the suspects were accused of conspiring to accept payment in exchange for quoting favorable prices when they traded the bank’s derivative warrants. They were also suspected of creating false or misleading representation of active trading that had influenced investors.

Bernas said there might be more arrests to come after Taiwanese authorities issued a warrant for the immediate arrest of another Deutsche Bank executive last April 20 for fraudulent misrepresentations in relation to a $48-million investment loss of his client, well-known Taiwanese scientist and entrepreneur Chang Tse-wen.

Deutsche Bank recently has come under fire from regulation agencies of different countries including the US, Germany, South Korea and the European Union for various frauds and misrepresentations.

The US government is suing the bank for making fraudulent misrepresentations so that it could join a government program that insures mortgages. 

On the other hand, the Bank has just lost a court case in Germany for tailoring product risk profiles to the detriment of investors.

In South Korea, regulators have imposed a six-month suspension of the bank’s local brokerage unit for manipulating the stock market.