RCBC files defamation suit versus Bank of Bangladesh
Credit to Author: ANGELICA BALLESTEROS, TMT| Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2019 08:19:49 +0000
YUCHENGCO-led Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) sued the Bank of Bangladesh for defamation over the alleged $81 million bank heist issue in 2016.
In a statement on Tuesday, RCBC accused the Bangladesh bank before the Makati City Regional Trial Court 6 of allegedly damaging its reputation.
The suit filed on March 6 was served to Bank of Bangladesh Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohammad Razee Hasan and other members who arrived in the Philippines to meet with banking officials.
The lawsuit stemmed from the alleged illegal transfer of some $81 million by North Korean hackers who sent multiple remittance orders to accounts with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and deposited in alleged fictitious accounts with RCBC, from where the funds were transacted, converted and lost, a part of which went through Philippine casinos where they were used to purchase gaming chips.
The Bank of Bangladesh in February sued RCBC with the US District Court for the Southern District of New York over the matter.
“It is public knowledge that Bangladesh Bank has embarked on a massive ploy and scheme to extort money from plaintiff RCBC by resorting to public defamation, harassment and threats geared towards destroying RCBC’s good name, reputation, and image, all with the intention of getting RCBC to pay Bangladesh Bank money that RCBC does not have in its custody or possession and which it does not owe to Bangladesh Bank,” RCBC said.
Tai-Heng Cheng, RCBC’s lead lawyer who is also a partner at the New York office of law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, said that Bangladesh bank’s claims were baseless and have harmed RCBC’s reputation.
“Bangladesh’s suit is nothing more than a political stunt to try to shift blame from themselves to RCBC. The action taken today by RCBC finally puts the case in a court where—at the very least—the alleged crime took place,” he claimed.
RCBC said its charges filed with Bangladesh bank points to its failure to secure its network and disclose failings on a timely basis.
Thea Daep, partner at the Manila law firm of Villaraza and Angangco said that RCBC “will prove in the Philippine court that Bangladesh’s defamation is nothing more than a blatant attempt to shift the blame and cover up their own liability at RCBC’s expense.”
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