(Eagle News)–Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. was arrested on Thursday, Aug. 22, for allegedly violating banking laws.
In a statement, the Manila Police District said Yasay was arrested in his house in Barangay Poblacion, Makati around 3 p.m. by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 10 Judge Danilo Leyva.
The MPD said Atty. Jonn Irvin Velasques, a representative of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, appeared before it to seek police assistance to implement the warrant, which was for the charges filed against Yasay for violation of provisions of the General Banking Law and the New Central Bank Act.
The charges stem from the alleged failure of Yasay and five others to report to the BSP, as then officers of the now-defunct Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgages Bank sometime between 2001 to 2009, a P350-million loan for Tierrasud Incorporated partly guaranteed and secured by real properties owned by Tropical Land Corporation.
The MPD said the group failed to report the loan “to the supervision of BSP” even if a report instructing them to rectify the same was addressed to them.
Yasay is in police custody so far.
Yasay was appointed foreign affairs secretary by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 but his appointment was rejected by the Commission on Appointments in March 2017.
This was after the CA ruled he had lied about his citizenship.
