Guevarra says dismissed Wirecard official ”may still be here”, orders BI to investigate

June 24, 2020

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said a dismissed official of payments firm Wirecard may still be in the Philippines.

Citing records from the Bureau of Immigration, Guevarra said Jan Marsalek, former COO of Wirecard, arrived  on March 3 and left on March 5.

"However, there are some indications that he may have returned recently and may still be here," Guevarra said  in a text message to reporters.

Guevarra ordered the Bureau of Immigration to investigate the former Wirecard executive.

Guevarra said he directed National Bureau of Investigation to investigate certain persons allegedly involved in the Wirecard case, in which 1.9 billion euros  or $ 2.1 billion reportedly went missing.

The NBI will coordinate with the Anti-Money Laundering Council in the initial phase of the probe, he said.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno on Sunday said the missing $2.1 billion did not enter the Philippine financial system, news reports pointed out.

Two Philippine banks, BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), on Friday denied involvement with Wirecard. They said documents claiming Wirecard was their client  were false.

"The international financial scandal used the names of two of the country's biggest banks -- BDO and BPI -- in an attempt to cover the perpetrators' attack," Diokno said.

Markus Braun, Wirecard's chief executive officer, resigned Friday. DMS