Ambient Masthead tags

Saturday, July 22, 2017

URC Releases Official Statement in Relation to Metrobank's Ongoing Fraud Investigation

Image courtesy of www.business.inquirer.net

We are aware that URC and its account at Metrobank have been mentioned in an apparent internal Metrobank issue involving fraud. Even as Metrobank continues to conduct an internal investigation on the matter, we would like to assure everyone that the integrity and security of URC, and its account at Metrobank, remain unaffected by the said incident. We thank Metrobank President Fabian Dee for giving us the heads up advice and such assurance as we wish them all the best in seeking an expeditious solution to the matter.

P900-M internal fraud rocks Metrobank


Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), the country’s second-largest bank, has been hit by internal fraud that a senior official allegedly perpetrated, causing it to lose at least P900 million.

The Inquirer learned that Metrobank, owned and controlled by George Ty, may have lost as much as P2.5 billion after a bank vice president allegedly funneled disbursed loans into fictitious accounts created in the name of a legitimate client, Universal Robina Corp.

The funds in the fake accounts, controlled by the rogue officer, were then siphoned off electronically to other accounts in other financial institutions and into the pockets of the suspect.

An internal investigation has yet to determine whether the officer was acting alone or in league with others.

BSP probe

This prompted Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to launch a probe to determine how a single official was able to circumvent the bank’s internal controls to commit “qualified theft.”

“We are going to investigate this matter, that you can be sure of,” said the BSP chief, who is three weeks into his six-year term as the country’s chief banking regulator.

The BSP immediately mobilized its examiners and auditors to pore over Metrobank’s records.

A Metrobank official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was going on, said the preliminary amount of the stolen funds that could be confirmed as of Thursday stood at “around P900 million.”

VP arrested

The suspected rogue official has been identified as Maria Victoria Lopez, a vice president at the corporate services unit of Metrobank’s Makati City head office.

She was arrested on July 17 by the National Bureau of Investigation in a sting operation on the bank’s premises.

Lopez, 54 and one year away from the mandated retirement age, is detained at the NBI headquarters, according to sources.

False loan releases

Metrobank is expected to file charges against her next week.

Another banker, who was familiar with the details of the scam, told the Inquirer that the suspect engineered false loan disbursements from Metrobank to the fake Universal Robina account “in tranches of P30 million.”

“She or they did this over a long period for P30 million disbursements to reach a total of P2.5 billion,” the banker said. “How far back? That’s what they’re trying to figure out right now.”

Metrobank, a publicly listed company, had P1.9 trillion in assets as of the first quarter of 2017. It earned P6.21 billion from January to March.

Metrobank had 959 domestic branches and 202 foreign branches, offices and subsidiaries last year. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

23 comments:

  1. Wow! Bakit sinira ni VP ang career? Imposibleng makalusot ang ganitong kalaking fraud. What was she thinking?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't think na sya lang yan. Imposible, may internal control sysmtem ang mga companies lalo na ang banks. Baka nga scapegoat lang si ateng VP

      Delete
    2. She can not do that alone considering the amount is in billions!

      Delete
  2. Babae na naman ang cause hihi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Babae na naman ang scapegoat.

      Delete
    2. 4:27 ano iniimply mo na babae na naman ang cause? Parang iba tono mo.

      Delete
    3. @4:27 Babae din ang nanay mo. Look what she got, YOU 😂

      Delete
    4. 11:03 Spot on! 🤣👍🏽

      Delete
    5. Metrobank & NBI should check her connections in URC. Her so called friend will lead to the truth

      Delete
  3. ouch, kaya pala down ang stocks ni MBT :(

    ReplyDelete
  4. yung kapag ordinary citizen na may business ang magloloan pahirapan at parang butas ng karayom bago maapproved, pero yung ganitong kalaki nakakalusot ang fictitiois account? wtf

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In reality Iha life isn't fair. What's new?

      Delete
  5. Tsk metrobank naman ngayon. BSP gawan nyo ng paraan para mas madaling madetect ang ganyang fraud.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There's really something wrong with the banking system sa pinas. Money laundering scandal, skimming, problems with money getting wihtdrawn from your acct without your approval, and now this.. Ano ba talaga problema?!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sadly affected lahat ng banks kapag may ganyang news. BSP will once again tighten up its policies. Basis nanaman yan kung ano ang mga documents n hahanapin. Pati clients mahahassle sa dami ng pipirmahan dahil s ganyan. Kainis lang nadadamay lahat ng bankero. Lagi takot mga client ngayon hayyy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sa daming proseso na kelangan mong pagdaanan sa banking system sa Pinas compared sa other countries na simply lang process, nalulusutan pa rin. Something is definitely wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Parang sa.movie lang...nakaka.ano kung pano nya nagawa yun

    ReplyDelete
  10. Shame! Shame! Shame!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diba? Kaawa family niya. Not unless they know and tolerate it.

      Delete
  11. Pang retirement fund siguro ni vp. Ang laking pera.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dapat na ba magwithdraw o may mawi-withdraw pa ba?

    ReplyDelete
  13. from unexpected withdrawals and deposits due to wrong entry by a bank employee, to unauthorized withdrawals, and to this.... BSP should revisit and impose new security measures for the banks to protect the welfare of the depositors. Regardless of the amounts we have in different banks, those are our hard earned money and we deserve to be protected from these fraud and errors.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Imagine 250k na sweldo niya hinde pa siya nakontento. Ang lakas ng loob :( feel ko nga inside job yung mangyari as kanya yung nagsumbong hinde siguro nakuha percentage niya or yung gusto niya. Nag away away.. or nahuli na siya.. basta hinde lang si Lopez Ang involved Marami yan sila sa team ni Lopez..

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...