RPT-Filipino lawyer says he's been framed over Wirecard's missing billions

(Repeats with no changes to text)
By Karen Lema and Joe Brock
MANILA/SINGAPORE, June 26 (Reuters) - A Filipino lawyer
embroiled in a multi-billion dollar fraud at Wirecard WDIG.DE ,
Mark Tolentino, told Reuters that he was surprised to be linked
to the German payments firm and that he was the "victim of a
frame-up".
Wirecard went bankrupt earlier this week after disclosing
that $2.1 billion of cash supposed to be in bank accounts in the
Philippines probably didn't exist. The revelation led to the
arrest of its former chief executive and has triggered probes in
Germany, Brussels and the Philippines as investigators try to
determine what happened.
In a phone interview with Reuters, Tolentino said he opened
six bank accounts for a Singapore-based firm but did not know
until the scandal broke that they were for Wirecard. He said the
accounts never had more than a few hundred euros in them.
"It seemed that all fingers were pointing to me to be the
thief and manipulator of the missing money," he said. "I want to
clear my name."
"I am a victim of identity theft and fake news and frame
up," Tolentino added.
He declined to provide documents or other evidence to show
how he had been duped.
Tolentino, 39, has not been charged with any crime.
Philippines Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told Reuters that
Tolentino would be questioned on Monday as part of its
investigation.
"He's the first to be invited to shed light on the matter,"
Guevarra said.
The Philippine government has not said what its probe will
focus on.
Wirecard declined to comment.
Tolentino said he opened six euro bank accounts in the name
of his law firm, MKT Law, at the Bank of the Philippines Islands
BPI.PS (BPI) and Banco de Oro Unibank (BDO) BDO.PS on behalf
of Citadelle Corporate.
Singapore company records show Citadelle Corporate is a
business administration company based in Singapore.
A Citadelle employee declined to comment by phone and an
email address on the company's website was not active.
BPI and BDO both say Wirecard was not a client of theirs and
that documents purporting to show Wirecard had deposited funds
with them were false. BPI said it had terminated one of its
assistant managers for signing a false certificate of deposit
while BDO said it had terminated a marketing officer for
fabricating a bank certificate.
Tolentino spent ten months in President Rodrigo Duterte's
administration as an assistant secretary at the transport
ministry before being sacked in 2018 for discussing a government
project with the president's sister.
In a statement from May 2018, the transport ministry said
it, "welcomes and strongly supports the decision of the
President to terminate the services of Mr. Tolentino as
Assistant Secretary for Railways due to questionable dealings
and unfairly involving the first family with matters regarding
the Mindanao Railway Project.”
Tolentino said he did not discuss a government project with
the president's sister and his dismissal was political.
Since leaving government, he has returned to legal practice
and also teaches business law at a local university. He
described himself as an experienced litigation and trial
attorney on his Facebook page.