BSP accusing Legacy Group

Expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to continue pounding Legacy Group owner Celso de los Angeles and his business partners with law suits one after another for the collapse of 13 Legacy-member rural banks.

The BSP has accused De los Angeles of masterminding a “swindling syndicate” that employed exorbitant investment schemes to amass depositors’ money and then later siphoned the funds to corporations he controlled. All the banks had an estimated total deposit liability of P24 billion when they collapsed.

On top of the three cases of syndicated estafa it already filed before the Department of Justice, BSP lawyer Alfonso Penaco said two more cases are being prepared for filing after the Holy Week.

These two yet-to-be-filed cases will uncover the schemes in the Pilipino Rural Bank in Cebu province and Rural Bank of Polangui in Albay.

The first three BSP cases uncovered the schemes in Rural Bank of Darbci Inc. in General Santos City, First Interstate Bank in Leyte, and Rural Bank of Bais Inc. in Negros Oriental.

In fact, Penaco said the BSP is preparing at least one case for each of the 13 rural banks.

“There were various misappropriations in each of the banks. Although the schemes were the same, it has to be a separate case each because the damaged parties—the banks—are different,” Penaco told abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.

"We have developed strong cases," Penaco added.

Apart from the three BSP cases, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. and groups of depositors and plan holders also slapped the Legacy owner with cases of syndicated estafa against him.

Three pre-need firms under the Legacy Group also collapsed. One group of plan holders were assisted by Senator Manuel Roxas II in filing its case.

- ABS-CBN News

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Tags: Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, BSP, Legacy Group