RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp. president Lorenzo Tan has gone on indefinite leave of absence on the heels of the government’s probe on the $81 million in dirty money that slipped through the cracks of the local financial system with the bank’s branch in Jupiter Street, Makati as the gateway.
In a meeting yesterday, RCBC board accepted Tan’s second leave request.
RCBC chair Helen Y. Dee will take over this post during Tan’s absence. She will be assisted by a management committee led by vice chair Cesar Virata and Armando Medina.
“Tan insisted on taking a leave to allow him to focus on clearing his name in the money laundering issue a board committee is investigating. The committee is assisted by SGV auditors and external counsels,” RCBC said in a statement yesterday.
In a separate statement, Tan’s lawyer Francis Lim said: “Earlier this week, my client asked again the RCBC board to let him go on leave. This was to avoid any perception of any undue influence on his part in the ongoing internal investigation on the matter. It would also give him more time to address baseless personal attacks against him.”
The Yuchengco-led RCBC vowed yesterday to plug any weakness in internal controls and operations which allowed $81 million in dirty money stolen by hackers from the central bank of Bangladesh to slip into the local financial system.
The bank also offered “sincerest apologies” for the involvement of its personnel in the money laundering scheme which is now the subject of investigations by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
“Within legal bounds, RCBC will cooperate with these and any subsequent government proceedings,” RCBC said in a public statement.
RCBC said it was likewise “conducting its own inquiry to identify and address any weaknesses in its controls and operations which may have facilitated the scheme.” It vowed to take “appropriate” action against any bank or officer or staff found guilt of fault or negligence.
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