Benjamin E. Diokno, Governor of the Philippines’ central bank. Photo credit: World Bank / Clarissa Villondo, under Creative Commons license

This week saw German company Wirecard rock the news thanks to a sizeable accounting scandal, where $2.1 billion worth of reported cash appears to be missing. The scandal hit Wirecard hard, having tanked the company’s stock over 70%. On the heels of the accounting scandal, two banks in the Philippines — BDO Unibank and Bank of the Philippine Islands — were named in connection with the missing funds. Right now, however, regulators have found no evidence of such cash having found its way into the Philippines’ financial system. Benjamin Diokno, the current Governor of the Philippines central bank, said the two banks named in connection in the missing funds suffered no losses, implying that no such funds were present in both banks.

On the heels of the scandal, documents purporting to show Wirecard having deposited funds with the two named banks were released. Diokno, however, insists “that no money entered the Philippines and that there is no loss to both banks”, implying some sort of fraud as regards to the documents. “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’ track,” Dioko said in a Viber message to reporters.

According to BDO Unibank, it appeared that one of its marketing officers had forged a bank certificate affiliated with Wirecard. Likewise, the Bank of the Philippine Islands says it’s suspended a manager whose signature appeared on one of the fraudulent documents. According to Dioko, the Philippine banking system was in a strong position and well-capitalized going into the coronavirus pandemic.

Wirecard appears to be facing more troubles as the two named banks deny having received any of its cash. The company, plagued by accounting irregularities, has invited an investigation from Germany’s financial regulatory agency. Wirecard has said it would co-operate with the investigation, stating that “the board is optimistic that this matter will be resolved and that the accusations will be shown not to be founded.”