Soleil Bank affiliate disowns bank guarantee for POGO auditor as per BSP--Gatchalian

An affiliate of Soleil Chartered bank has disowned any bank certification issued in favor of third party auditor Global ComRCI contracted by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla's letter to Senator Win Gatchalian.

In the letter, Medalla cited a statement made by Soleil Capitale's Chief Executive Officer Raj C. Astavakra that the company's affiliate Soleil Chartered Bank is based abroad and does not operate within the Philippines. Medalla also said that Soleil Capitale has no record of such document or any correspondence with regard to the certification and that Astavakra is not aware of the bank certification.

In the same letter, Medalla emphasized that Soleil Chartered does not have a pending application for a banking license with the BSP and that it did not receive nor process any banking application from the said entity based on BSP's records reckoning from 2014, said Gatchalian, adding that only those authorized by the BSP to operate as a bank may issue a letter of credit or certification as per Medalla.

Global ComRCI consortium entered into a 10-year, P6 billion contract with PAGCOR to conduct an independent audit of POGO's gross gaming revenues. In its attempt to show the legitimacy of Global ComRCI's operations, PAGCOR during the last Senate hearing presented a bank guarantee purportedly issued by Soleil to Global ComRCI in the amount of $25 million. Under PAGCOR's Terms of Reference (TOR), an entity needs to meet the P1 billion requirement to be qualified as a third-party auditor.

Also mentioned in the BSP letter are other discrepancies in the bank certification such as the bank logo used in the document.

"It can be deduced clearly from the BSP letter that Global ComRCI submitted a spurious bank certificate to PAGCOR. This brings to question not just the legitimacy of the contract but also the credibility of Global ComRCI to conduct a 3rd-party audit of POGO gaming revenues," Gatchalian stressed.

Affiliate ng Soleil Bank itinanggi ang bank guarantee para sa POGO auditor ayon sa BSP--Gatchalian

Itinanggi ng isang affiliate ng Soleil Chartered bank ang bank certification na inisyu pabor sa third party auditor na Global ComRCI na kinontrata ng Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) para sa Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), ayon sa sulat ni Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla kay Senator Win Gatchalian.

Binanggit ni Medalla sa liham ang pahayag ni Raj. C. Astavakra, na Chief Executive Officer ng Soleil Capitale na affiliate ng Soleil Chartered Bank, na nakabase sa ibang bansa ang naturang bangko at walang operasyon sa Pilipinas. Sinabi rin ni Medalla na ang Soleil Capitale ay walang anumang rekord ng bank certification.

Sinabi pa ni Medalla sa liham na ang Soleil Chartered ay walang aplikasyon ng banking license sa BSP at hindi ito nakatanggap o nagproseso ng anumang banking application batay sa records ng BSP mula 2014, ayon kay Gatchalian. Idinagdag pa ni Gatchalian na tanging ang mga pinahintulutan ng BSP na magpatakbo bilang isang bangko ang maaaring mag-isyu ng letter of credit o sertipikasyon ayon kay Medalla.

Ang Global ComRCI consortium ay mayroong P6 bilyong kontrata sa PAGCOR sa loob ng sampung taon para i-audit ang kita ng mga POGO. Sa pagtatangka ng PAGCOR na ipakita ang pagiging lehitimo ng operasyon ng Global ComRCI sa huling pagdinig ng Senado, nagpakita ito ng bank guarantee na inisyu umano ng Soleil Chartered sa Global ComRCI sa halagang $25 milyon. Sa ilalim ng Terms of Reference (TOR) ng PAGCOR, para maging kwalipikado ang isang third party auditor ay kailangang matugunan nito ang P1 bilyon na requirement.

Binanggit din sa sulat ng BSP ang iba pang hindi pagkakatugma sa certification ng bangko tulad ng bank logo na ginamit sa dokumento.

"Malinaw sa sulat ng BSP na peke ang ipinakitang bank certificate ng Global ComRCI sa PAGCOR. Hindi lang kaduda-duda ang kontrata ng PAGCOR at Global ComRCI, lumalabas na kwestiyonable na rin ang kredibilidad ng Global ComRCI na magsagawa ng audit sa gaming revenues ng POGO," diin ni Gatchalian.