Philippine clerk’s US$14 million theft forces closure of 50-year-old brokerage firm

The settlement clerk at R&L Investments Incorporated began siphoning off shares in 2011 until he had wiped out ‘almost all’ of the firm’s stock position

He has since confessed to taking the money, according to local media reports, blaming a growing gambling habit for the massive theft

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A trader watches the electronic board on the floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:57pm, 8 Nov 2019Updated: 7:08pm, 8 Nov 2019

A clerk who stole more than 700 million pesos (US$13.87 million) worth of stocks over eight years from one of the Philippines’ oldest brokerage firms, forcing its closure, will be at the centre of a wide-ranging investigation called for on Friday by the country’s stocks regulator.

R&L Investments Incorporated closed its doors on Monday after its owners uncovered a long-running scam by an employee that had wiped out “almost all of our stock position”, owner Lucy Linda Lee was quoted as saying by the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Traders work beneath a monitor displaying foreign exchange rates on the trading floor of the Philippine Stock Exchange. Photo: Bloomberg

The firm, which had been operating for half a century, is now being investigated by the Philippine Stock Exchange’s audit and surveillance unit.

Starting in 2011, the settlement clerk siphoned off shares from R&L Investments’ stock inventory into another account and profited from the transactions, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported on Thursday. The employee has since confessed to stealing the money to feed a growing gambling habit, the newspaper said.

In a statement, the Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission said the bourse must conduct “a thorough investigation to unearth the truth behind the transactions in question, identify all parties involved, and uncover the extent of the damage to the stock brokerage, its clients and the overall market”.