There continue to be further developments in the Wirecard scandal, with Mark Tolentino, a Filipino lawyer who has been linked to the German Fintech ’s multi-billion dollar fraud, claiming he has been framed.
In particular, Tolentino told Reuters that he was surprised to be linked to the Wirecard and told the news outlet that he was the “victim of a frame-up” and that he wanted to clear his name.
As Finance Magnates reported, last week, Wirecard filed for insolvency after it revealed that the €1.9 billion supposed to be in bank accounts in the Philippines probably didn’t exist. The former CEO of the German company, Marcus Braun, was also arrested for fraud last week.
Investigators try to piece together Wirecard situation
As investigators across Germany, Brussels, and the Philippines try to determine what happened, Tolentino told Reuters in a phone interview that he opened six bank accounts for a Singapore-based firm. Reportedly, Tolentino didn’t know that the bank accounts were for Wirecard and that the accounts never had more than a few hundred euros in them.
These six euro bank accounts were opened up in the name of his law firm, MKT Law, at the Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) and Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO). These were opened on behalf of Citadelle Corporate.
However, BPI and BDO have both said that Wirecard was not a client of theirs and that documents that claim to show the German fintech had deposited funds with them are false. A number of employees have been fired for signing or creating fake documents.
“It seemed that all fingers were pointing to me to be the thief and manipulator of the missing money,” Tolentino told the news outlet. “I want to clear my name… I am a victim of identity theft and fake news and frame up.”
However, as pointed out by Reuters, Tolentino declined to provide any documentation or evidence to show how he had been framed.
