Mike Arroyo presented the wrong account number to the media. From the Tribune:
Mr. Arroyo left for Germany last Thursday with some members of Philippine media to obtain a certification from the Munich-based HypoVereinsbank. Last Friday, he was seen on local television stating that the bank had issued a certification to the effect that there was no such bank account in the name of the First Gentleman existing, and added that the sequencing of the bank account numbers does not even tally with the bank’s account number sequencing.
Mr. Arroyo, according to his press statement issued to the local media yesterday, said the German bank’s certification categorically stated that the bank does not have an account number 87-570-23030-32100-62771571, which he said was alleged to be the dollar account number of the First Gentleman and his family in Hypovereins bank, and then called Cayetano a liar.
It was noted, however, that the account being referred to by Cayetano is 87-570-23030-32100-6271-571 and was never claimed to be in the name of the First Gentleman.
The account number Mr. Arroyo in his statement and certification issued to him has one extra digit, which the media noted makes a big difference in establishing bank account numbers.
Magka-iba pala ng digits yung kay Cayetano at yung ipinakita ni Pidal sa media.
Big Mike #: 87-570-23030-32100-62771571
Cayetano #: 87-570-23030-32100-6271-571
More:
The certification was signed by bank vice president Peter Reisner and general secretariat head Evi Vollmann, who also declared that the bank does not maintain an account in the name of Jose Miguel Arroyo.
The certification was dated Aug. 25.
Cayetano, in disclosing that the evidence of this bank account in one of seven boxes of alleged impeachment evidence, never claimed that the account was in the name of the presidential spouse. He has also challenged the First Gentleman and his family members, including their beneficiaries, to execute a waiver for the bearer of the waiver and authorized representatives to look into their alleged assets and other properties here and abroad.
Exactly. hindi nasa pangalan ni Mike Arroyo ang account. Maybe nasa pangalan ni Pidal?
UPDATE: This was from the tribune dated aug. 20 2006:
Sources told the Tribune yesterday that the amount found in that “secret bank account runs to the tune of $500 million. The German bank’s assets stated are worth $200 billion.
In Friday’s radio interview, Cayetano did not mention names, but said the evidence was against the President for the impeachment case.
The same sources, who said they had seen the documents, also stated that the bank account was under the name of the presidential son, Mikey.
Cayetano was quoted in the reports as having alleged that “immediate members” of the family of Mrs. Arroyo were hiding a multi-million dollar bank account in Hypo-und Vereins Bank AG, in Munich, Germany. The account number was given by the congressman, exposing it as bank account 87570-23030-32100-6271-571.
Just "do a Lacson" and sign the waiver, Pidal.
UPDATE: Eto yung Acct no. ni Cayetano sa Malaya (aug. 19, 2006):
Cayetano, spokesman of the pro-impeachment team, has said in the impeachment hearings last Wednesday that the money is kept under account No. 87570-23030-32100-6271-571 in the Hypo-und Vereins Bank AG in Munchen.
Eto rin yung account no. ni Cayetano as reported by the tribune back aug. 20 2006:
Cayetano was quoted in the reports as having alleged that “immediate members” of the family of Mrs. Arroyo were hiding a multi-million dollar bank account in Hypo-und Vereins Bank AG, in Munich, Germany. The account number was given by the congressman, exposing it as bank account 87570-23030-32100-6271-571.
OTOH, the Philstar, Inquirer, and People's Taliba account numbers are similar to Pidal's 87570-23030-32100-62771571.
More reaction from Jon Mariano.
I don't know why the bank issued a certification to Mike Arroyo and not the the Tribune, since hindi naman raw client ng german bank si Mike Arroyo:
This issuance of the certification by the German bank appears contrary to the bank’s policy in disclosing details of any account.
In response to a Tribune query on the stated account, the German bank, in an e-mail message to the Tribune said, “We are legally not allowed to give any information whether a person or a company is a client of our bank or not. But of course we cooperate with legal institutions within the legal framework.”
The certification that Mr. Arroyo said was issued by the bank to him went against this policy, as it also said in that certification that the bank does maintain an account in the name of Jose Miguel Arroyo.
Presumably, in obtaining that bank certification, no legal route was taken by the President’s husband.
UPDATE: Hokedocs... eto pa. The Sunstar, ABS-CBN, Manila Times, Balita, numbers are similar to Tribune and Malaya: 87570-23030-32100-6271-571.
And People's Taliba got it right the first time.
But you know what, tama si Mike Arroyo, tigilan na natin ang kakatanong sa mga hidden bank accounts na yan. Mag cha cha na lang tayo. Back to regular programming, plis...
JB Baylon remembers the Pidal Accounts:
And then there was the scandal involving bank accounts attributed to the President’s husband under a unique name which he claimed he did not know – only to find out that 1) it was a real name, the name of a grandfather of his in fact; 2) the bank account was later claimed by his brother whom the President’s husband had identified as the "richer" one, but 3) it turns out this richer brother was paying income taxes as if he were as ‘rich" as a Shoemart saleslady! Before anything else could be dug up about this scandal, the powerful brothers invoked their right against self-incrimination. Or was it privacy? Then again, in their case, what would be the difference? But to add insult to injury, the small taxpayer of a brother is now an honorable member of Congress.
UPDATE: JB Baylon is still skeptical re pidal:
Speaking of lying, didn’t you claim that you never knew a "Jose Pidal"? But didn’t it turn out that you are descended from a Jose Pidal? Were you lying then, intentionally or not, FG sir? Then again, since you are not a public official, I suppose we can’t urge you to resign too.
When people close to you, FG sir, claimed that Ping Lacson had millions of ransom money in bank accounts, Lacson did not go to the United States to get a certification to clear his name; instead, he issued a waiver allowing anyone to see for themselves whether indeed the bank accounts in his name had millions.
And what did we find out? We found out that the allegations were false, and that the accounts, while existing, had only a few thousand dollars (if I am not mistaken) in them.
The banks in question, if I am not mistaken again, were banks the ordinary man on the street could go to and open an account in.
But that’s not the case with the German bank, is it? If I am not mistaken (for the third time) the bank in question here is a private bank, established to offer its services to the most discerning of clients seeking privacy in their financial matters. You now have a certification from the bank clearing your name, yet you didn’t seem to have any problem knowing where the bank was – I didn’t seem to ever hear you say "I never even heard of such a bank!"
5 comments:
Where do you think this issue will end up? It just might be added to the number of accussations against the Arroyos that will never be answered...
i don't think we'll ever find out the real deal behind the accounts, as long as Arroyo remains in power.
maganda rin sana ano kung binigyan ni GMA ng "victor corpus"-like powers si Cayetano to make pidal accountable? ;)
Jon,
My thought is that unless someone (Cayetano in particular) becomes bold and daring, enough to launch a worldwide sleuthing with the help of the OECD and their financial brigades, to track the ownership of the dubious bank account, this latest Fatso Arroyo caper will be swept under the carpets of Gloria's bedroom never to see the light of day.
Rep Cayetano coule easily send the OECD financial brigade in Germany the elements he's got without divulging his own sources and could easily ask them to withold his identity. Otherwise, he could just send the whole bunch of documents to the said brigade that he's got anonymously with a note that the bank account is suspected to contain money sourced from money laundering.
The key term to get action and help from the any member OECD financial brigade is MONEY LAUNDERING!
Technically, if a public official or any member of his/her family is suspected to have committed malversation of state funds or government money or money intended for official public use or that the money was sourced from illegal or undeclared pay-offs constituting bribes or if he receives some form of payment from by a foreign company which could be interpreted as having been some kind of a pay-off resulting in a deal beneficial to the said foreign company (headquartered in an OECD member nation) and then diverting said funds to a European bank which is also headquartered in an OECD member nation, the act by the public official and/or members of his/her family may be qualified as MONEY LAUNDERING by the OECD financial brigades.
They are very low-profile but will act and verify, check and counter-check all info that come their way.
Once they have their teeth on a public official, they usually don't let go. But to do that, they need public support.
hi anna. welcome back.
"Rep Cayetano coule easily send the OECD financial brigade in Germany the elements he's got without divulging his own sources and could easily ask them to withold his identity."
good idea.
eto sabi ni cayetano dati: “this is not a wild goose chase because one, there is an account number and two, this is going around among official circles. This is going around not only locally but internationally.”
Perhaps the good Congressman already knows how the OECD operates and is aware that he could actually address them either officially or anonymously with regards suspicion of money laundering or financial fraud by a member of the family of a sitting government official.
The key term to use as I said is money laundering. If a European bank is being used as a conduit for money laundering - OECD wouldn't like that
I wonder if Rep Cayetano is on the roll on how la brigade financière of the OECD could help!
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