Self-styled cult
CAUGHT in the clutches of a group led by self-styled Japanese cult leader
Genta Ogami, Unitrust Development Bank, a small thrift bank with 700 million
pesos in assets, simply imploded.
Unitrust declared a bank holiday on Friday following a 138-million-peso bank
run and the massive resignation of its officers and employees.
That same day, the Monetary Board, the highest policy-making
body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, approved the bank's closure and
transfer to the intensive care unit of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. for
possible rehabilitation.
The bank's sudden demise has triggered a barrage of questions. Is Ogami,
reportedly convicted for fraud in Japan and leader of a cult that promises
"salvation of the world," the real owner? Was the acquisition of the
bank an attempt to extend the operations of G. Cosmos Philippines Inc., a
company chaired by Ogami that the Securities and Exchange Commission has shut
down?
Ogami, whose face has been plastered on huge, colorful billboards throughout
Metro Manila, promises salvation of the world to those who will invest in his
businesses.
Based on interviews and documents, two Japanese firms, G. Universal Ltd. and
Minamoto Saiken Kaishu Co. Ltd., and three Filipinos--Pedro Montanez, Leopoldo
Valcalcel and Francis Yuseco--acquired 100 percent of Unitrust from the group
of former Philippine Stock Exchange president Jose Luis Yulo Jr. for 505
million pesos on Sept. 21 last year.
Each of the five took a 20-percent stake in the bank. The ownership transfer
also infused 285 million pesos in fresh funds into Unitrust and practically
wiped out all its bad debts and non-performing assets.
In an interview, Yuseco said he and the two other Filipinos, whom he did not
know, came to the bank under the lure of Japanese national Kensuko Inoue. It
was Inoue, an associate of Ogami, who offered to give them a stake in Unitrust
through loans that would be paid off from the bank's profits. They were
overjoyed to accept this "wondrous" proposal.
Things quickly deteriorated, however. Soon after they came in, with Inoue as
president, Unitrust came out with a much publicized and controversial two-page
"Save the World" ad promising extremely high-paying salaries to new
recruits.
This ad, which had no board approval, triggered a massive withdrawal of 40
million pesos as some clients sensed the unmistakable association with Ogami,
who at that time had already been publicly linked to the alleged illegal
operations of G. Cosmos, according to Yuseco.
After the ad came out, Inoue abruptly resigned and Yuseco took over. Motohiko
Hagisaka, another Ogami associate, however, also staked a claim on the
position.
Inoue's falling out with Ogami seemed irreparable as the former spilled the
beans on his former associate's alleged illegal activities. In turn, Ogami
accused Inoue, Yuseco and others of embezzlement and swindling.