AMLC: No bank records of contractor, DPWH sending money to Romualdez

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A witness from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) said Thursday the P560.5-million worth of remittances that went to the bank account of suspended Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez during his tenure as House speaker from 2022 to 2025 were not related to flood control transactions.

AMLC financial investigator Atty. Jan Mark Busa made the testimony during the bail petition hearing of Romualdez, who is facing a P7.4-billion plunder charge alongside former Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co, Romualdez's personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Sereño, and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation, over their alleged links to the flood control kickback scheme.

During the cross-examination of Romualdez's counsel Atty. Rashel Ann Pomoy, Busa said the AMLC monitored P560 million worth of bank transactions recorded under the former House leader's bank accounts from September 2022 to March 2025.

Asked by Pomoy if it would be correct to say that the AMLC did not have findings that these P560-million remittances were related to flood control projects, Busa answered in the affirmative.

Busa, meanwhile, said AMLC was unable to trace money transfers to Romualdez by a contractor, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) or his co-accused Co.

Busa's investigation covered 1,951 financial transactions of Romualdez covering the period from 2022 to 2025.

Pomoy also asked Busa to confirm his statement in his judicial affidavit stating that the AMLC monitored P560 million worth of remittances that went through Romualdez's bank accounts from September 2022 to March 2025, or lower than the P7.4-billion plundered money that Ombudsman prosecutors are alleging.

Busa confirmed that he said, "There appears to be a huge disparity between the inflow and the amount charged of P7.4 billion."

Further, Busa denied that AMLC's record of Romualdez sending money to Golden Pheasant, the company which Ombudsman prosecutors allege was used by the Leyte congressman to purchase a property located at 30 Tamarind Road, South Forbes Park, Makati City that is partially funded by simulated dollar-to-peso transactions facilitated by Guevarra through Samchan. — VDV, GMA News