Pinay denies withdrawing $5 million

A Filipino woman accused in a $5 million money laundering case denied knowing that her bank account was being used for the scam.

Michelle S.C., a Hong Kong resident, said it was Morris N., her mother’s live-in partner, who used her bank account for his remittance and money exchange business and did not tell her that it was used for illegal transactions.

“I did not know at that time,” Michelle told District Court Judge David Dufton on May 4.
She told the judge that Morris asked her in 2010 if he could use her bank account for his business and so she gave her password.

Michelle was then working for Morris in his remittance and money exchange business, which handled amounts up to $400,000 to $500,000 a day.

“He told me that he could not open a Bank of China account because he had a money exchange business,” Michelle said.

The Filipino woman was charged with “dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence” on November 23.

Michelle allegedly withdrew a total of $4.97 million from her Bank of China account from July 2010 to November 2012.

“Withdrawing the money from the account, that’s the criminal act,” said the prosecutor in the case on November 24.

But during the hearing on December 22, Michelle said s he was not aware about many of the transactions involving her Bank of China account.
The prosecution alleged that Michelle made 330 withdrawals from the account, which unknown individuals used to make 131 deposits.

Two of these deposits were made from false accounts—one account was under the name of an individual who lost his Hong Kong identification card while the other claimed that the account was opened without his knowledge.

Michelle allegedly withdrew money from her account through the ATM, over the bank counter, and through electronic transfers. She allegedly transferred the money to other accounts.
Michelle said she did not do these things and that it was Morris who committed the alleged illegal activities.

Under Hong Kong’s Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, those convicted of the offense filed against Michelle could be fined up to $5 million and imprisoned up to 14 years.
The prosecution has to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused still dealt with the money even if it came from questionable sources.


The prosecutor said Michelle dealt with the funds even though they were much bigger than her income during that time.

By Philip C. Tubeza