WB denies sending OFWs e-mails on lotto rigging, forex manipulation

MANILA, Philippines - The World Bank (WB) has denied sending e-mails telling overseas Filipino workers (OFW) about the alleged manipulation of dollar exchange rates and rigging of lotto draws in the Philippines.

In a statement, the international lending agency said that an e-mail saying that Philippine officials are manipulating exchange rates and lotto draws is circulating in the Internet and is being attributed to them.

The e-mail read: “Your government is manipulating the exchange rate for some years now. It is very much improbable and impossible that the Philippine peso is appreciating compare[d] to euro, British pound, riyal, and any other foreign currency."

It went on to say that the Philippine government also dictates the outcome of lotto draws.

The e-mail solicited a lot of negative reactions from OFWs who thought that the Philippine government was cheating them from the real worth of their remittances. This prompted the World Bank to finally deny issuing such letters.

“The World Bank denies issuing such letters. Any letter of this nature did not come and would not come from any staff of the World Bank," it said.

It said that all media releases, official statements, reports, and studies of the World Bank Philippines offices are made available to the public on their Web site.

“The World Bank would like to seek the help of the public by refraining from forwarding such e-mails that are wrongly attributed to the World Bank," it said. - Kimberly Jane T. Tan, GMANews.TV

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