Garcia: Cayman Island banks deny existence of bank accounts

EMBATTLED Elections chairman George Garcia yesterday said two banks in Cayman Islands have declared that his alleged offshore accounts are non-existent.

In a radio interview, Garcia said he has personally sought information from the Scotiabank and Cayman National Bank regarding the existence of such offshore bank accounts under his name, as claimed by SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta.

“The banks responded and said there were no accounts under my name in their system,” said Garcia, adding: “At least, we proved we have no accounts in these Cayman Islands banks.”

He said he will present the certification of the accounts’ non-existence in a press conference today.

Marcoleta has earlier accused Garcia of owning two offshore bank accounts in the Cayman Islands, which allegedly received deposits from South Korean banks.

Garcia said that according to the two financial institutions, “I was told that for a foreigner to open an account, they should appear personally in their branch, particularly where they intend to open an account.”

Garcia said he has never been to Cayman Islands.