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

Kalibo Airport: Fee scam revealed

MANILA, Philippines – Aviation authorities sacked 11 personnel of the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) for pocketing the terminal fee paid by passengers.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said in a statement on Wednesday, May 18, that the airport personnel – all casual employees – were part of a scam wherein used terminal fee tickets were issued to passengers, which allowed them to keep the payment.

CAAP Deputy Director General for Administration Artemio Orozco said the agency has terminated the contracts of the 11 job order personnel, who may also be liable for criminal charges.
They are terminal fee inspectors Daniva Acosta and Shane Alejandro; terminal fee collectors Shiela Oirada, Cherry Peralta, Jojean Conanan, Precious Fernandez, Gerry Revister, Maria Briones, Andy Mel Jones Concepcion, and Jovert Alejandro; and flight data encoders Shamar Glenn Mabasa.
Orozco said a CAAP regular employee suspected of involvement in the scam has been suspended pending investigation. “A show cause order has been issued to the regular employee who works as a terminal fee collector at the airport,” he added.

CAAP Director General William Hotchkiss lll ordered his deputy, Rodante Joya – CAAP Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) chief – to investigate how long the group had been involved in the scam. Orozco said based on its initial investigation, the CSIS found proof that the members of the group were involved in the scam in January and February this year.

“We cannot yet say how much of the KIA’s earnings this group has taken through their scam of basically recycling terminal fee tickets until the CSIS concludes its investigation into how long the group has been involved in the modus,” he said. According to the CAAP memorandum that ended the workers' contracts, the contract termination order was issued without prejudice to the filing of the appropriate criminal complaint against them based on the CSIS findings.

The KIA terminal fee for a domestic flight costs P200, and P750 for international travel.
KIA is among the country's busiest airports, popular among both domestic and foreign travelers headed to world-famous Boracay Island. In 2014, more than 2 million passengers used the airport.

Source: Rappler.com