The department of justice in the Philippines, which has been inquiring into the Bangladesh Bank heist, has ended primary investigations. It is estimated that $81 million has been stolen from the bank through its account with New York Federal Reserve and the amount was found to have been encashed in Manila. The department had been investigating the probe under money laundering laws of the country. Three consolidated complaints were filed by the country’s Anti-Money Laundering Council against a former Rizal Commercial Banking Corp branch manager and four others. The case is now submitted for resolution, which is expected to be issued within a month. The investigating prosecutor said these cases pending at the department of justice covered only about $15 million of the stolen money. Around $2.7 million was earlier recovered and frozen by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. while $63 million more from the stolen money remain missing and are now being pursued by Bangladeshi officials. All respondents have denied money laundering charges in their respective counter-affidavits.
