THE Court of Appeals has dismissed the
petition of a banker seeking to annul the Department of
Justice’s finding of probable cause for four counts of estafa
against him and three other bank executives.
The CA’s 12th Division affirmed the DOJ
resolution to indict Samuel Lee, president of Richmond Savings
Bank (RSB), for estafa through falsification of commercial
documents, based on the complaint filed by a certain Alec
Badiola, an official of the Department of Thrift Banks and
Non-Bank Financial Institutions under the Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas.
Aside from Lee, also charged with estafa were
Darryl Joseph David, Nicanor Matias and Levilinda Cruz.
Lee was RSB president from July 15, 1996 to
May 15, 1998 and was also a member of Richmond’s board of
directors from March 1, 1996 until Oct. 15, 1998 when the bank
was placed under receivership of the Philippine Deposit
Insurance Corporation.
Badiola began examining certain RSB
transactions on Jan. 8, 1998 upon instruction by BSP Director
Candon B. Guerrero. The BSP discovered that on Sept. 10, 1997,
RSB through Lee and junior treasury officer Francis C. Go
conspired with David, head of RSB’s treasury department, in
entering into an Investment Management Agreement (IMA) with
Solidbank Corporation. Upon execution of the IMA, David and Go
caused the delivery to Solidbank of P50 million out of RSB funds
as initial investment.
Additional investments totaling more than
P180 million were made on several dates. On Sept. 19, 1997, Lee
and Go wrote Solidbank instructing it to lend P55 million of RSB
funds deposited in the IMA to a local firm, D&L Industries Inc.
Solidbank obliged and transferred the loan amount to a deposit
account in Solidbank Marikina.
The actual depositor of the said account was
not identified but Badiola maintained the said account is
controlled by Lee, David and Go. D&L finance director F. Manalo
Jr., in a letter dated April 2, 1998, also categorically denied
that D&L obtained a loan from Solidbank.
Go and Lee also arranged with Solidbank loans
of P50 million from RSB’s IMA to In-Wear Garments Inc., and a
total of P270 million to Home Construction Inc. and Shrinkpack
Philippines Corp. The loan documents were also provided by
David, Go and Lee without the knowledge or participation of the
said firms and without any contact, coordination or
communication between Solidbank and the three firms.
All three firms subsequently denied receiving
any loans from Solidbank through RSB.
Lee was ordered indicted for estafa and falsification of
commercial documents. Both his petition for review and
subsequent appeal of its denial were thrown out by the DOJ,
prompting him to take the matter to the appellate court.
–Evangeline C. de Vera
