MANILA - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has formed a task force to investigate fraudulent transactions that victimized account holders of BDO, an official said Tuesday.

Cybercriminals transferred BDO clients' funds to Unionbank accounts, which were then used to buy Bitcoin from the cryptocurrency market, the central bank earlier said.

• BSP says coordinating with BDO, UnionBank on alleged hacking complaints
• Bank account holders fall victim to unauthorized transactions

The team is composed of cybersecurity and anti-money laundering specialists, including legal officers, said Mhel Plabasan, director of BSP Technology Risk and Supervision Department.

"The intention really is for us to get to the bottom of the issue and for us to identify the exact amount and number of customers who have been affected by this incident," he told ANC's Rundown.

"The (BSP) governor mentioned last night we have to complete the investigation in 30 days. We have to make sure all vulnerabilities on the part of BDO, receiving bank, or Instapay will be resolved or will be remediated."

BDO has claimed the hacking stemmed from a "sophisticated fraud request due to a web service due for replacement by 2022," Plabasan said.

"We are guided by existing regulations. If there are weakness then the involved institutions will be subjected to monetary or nonmonetary penalties or other escalated actions," he said.

"Banks should always be proactive when it comes to adapting robust security measures."

The investigation also aims to "scrutinize the customer onboarding process of UnionBank, Plabasan added.

"Initially, based on prelim info, there are actually real persons behind. There are real persons behind 'Mark Nagoyo.' We will ensure the person behind Mark Nagoyo and the accomplices will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law," he said.

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