Lessons from RCBC involvement in Bangladesh heist and money laundering

BE a BIDDA: "BELIEVE, INSPIRE, DREAM, DO ACHIEVE"

Rizal Philippines
March 19, 2016

He said, she said: who is telling the truth at the RCBC laundering case?

One of the lessons of history is that people dont learn their lessons from history.  They are ignored and viewed as one of the events passing through time.  A self aware individual learns from mistakes and misdeeds of history.

Lessons

1.  Small mistake big consequences.  The involvement of the Philippine financial system and the ease by which the money laundering took place places the remittance business, the Philippine economy, and the OFW beneficiary in jeopardy.  When the remittance centers accounts abroad are closed on suspicious that the remittances (as one of the remittance centers allegedly owned by one of the RCBC depositors) then it becomes more difficult to have foreign currency inaward remittances. It will wreck havoc on the reserve and dollar position of the country.

Action:   Do it right the first time.  Avoid reworks and recycling operations

2.  Disobedience and insubordination - The RCBC branch manager at Jupiter proceeded to have the withdrawal processed despite a stopped payment received at 9:00 am.   Disregard for communications and orders which is widespread in the company now, can lead to a disaster like this.  Most likely, RCBC will have to pay the $81 million which it allowed to be withdrawn despite a stop payment order.

There are sbus who have their own "akala ko" or change in job descriptions according to their thoughts and initiative  .

Action:  Let us read and follow orders. Follow one of the 3fold duties of an employee.  Obedience.  
Read blogs, read memos, read manuals. " Sundin ang" job descriptions and process. "Sundin ang utos."


3 Lies, lies, lies.  One of parties is lying to her teeth.   She is observing the 11th commandment (deny)  She lied on the statement:   better do this than they kill my family.  A bank exec said the manager said this but she lied at the Senate.   Her right hand person named (Angel - did we hear an angel lie before?) said the money was loaded into the car of William Go (which Romualdo Agarrado belied - it was loaded into the SUV a Lexus of Deguito.   She said she was recruited directly by the President of RCBC, a fact belied also by the President.  More lies being spread to lessen the guilt and to remove the attention on the guilty party.

We saw this with the perpetrators spreading false rumors and destroying relationship right after they were proven to be lying.

ACTION:  Enough of lying and enough of responsible people being angry and believing in lies and false information.  Hear says being believed as true.  And agents being employed to solicit gossips and lies.  Stop it.

4,  Forgers in the organization.    In the hataw campaign, an employee was caught red handed committing a forgery.  The laundering involved alleged forged signatures of one of the accused, Thus we must not tolerate having forgers in the organization and who are willing to commit forgeries for Holy Gardens transactions

ACTION :  The said forger in the organization must not be allowed to stay long.  The culture of criminal acts:  padding, malversation of funds, forgery must be stopped.

5.  Lact of or poor supervision.   The inward remittance must first go through the head office and for the final distributions at the branch would require clearance and approval from regional head at the lowest Senior Manager or AVP.  That there was complicity and connivance from the HO for the instant case is a point worth looking into.  Maybe not  as connivance but negligence.

Action:   Maging vigilant.  Supervisiors, watcher, auditors do your job.