HSBC Asked How It Allowed Fake IDs In Account Opening

An insured person with Sun Life is asking how HSBC allowed someone to open an account under his name that resulted in his check for more than half-a-million pesos getting encashed.

Photo Insert: Under the KYC rule, a bank should ensure that the bank should check and verify whether a person purporting to be the one opening a bank account is what he claims he is.

Sun Life insured Cesar C. Chan is at his wit's end trying to figure out how HSBC could be so remiss in its duties , especially in the strict account opening protocol that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is enforcing whereby the so-called KYC rule has to be followed.

Under the KYC rule, a bank should ensure that the bank should check and verify whether a person purporting to be the one opening a bank account is what he claims he is. This means the presentation of government-issued IDs before an account can be opened with a bank.

Unfortunately, in the case of someone identifying himself as Cesar C. Chan, what was presented were just scanned ID copies with pictures so fuzzy that the bank should have been alerted, according to Chan.

He said a check for P584,238.70 that represented his matured insurance policy with Sun Life was deposited in the account that was opened by a person purporting himself to be the real Cesar Chan at HSBC.

The Financial District is reprinting here the fake IDs and the real ID of Mr. Chan.

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