Court dismisses ATM skimming case vs. 3 Romanian nationals

After eight years of legal battle, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Cebu City has dismissed the criminal case filed against three Romanian nationals accused of involvement in an alleged ATM skimming operation that led to unauthorized withdrawals from a bank in 2017.

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The court cited major evidentiary gaps and procedural defects in its decision.

In a ruling by Presiding Judge Ramon Daomilas Jr., the court granted the "Demurrer to Evidence" filed by the accused: Ion Costel (also known as Alin Dumitru Chirita and Daniel Dawis), Ionut Alexandru Mitrache, and Razvan Aurelian Stancu, and ordered the dismissal of the case for insufficiency of evidence.

The three foreign nationals were charged under Section 9(c) of Republic Act No. 8484 (Access Devices Regulation Act) in relation to Section 4(a)(1) and Section 6 of Republic Act No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).

Prosecutors alleged that, from March 13, 2017, and for several days after, the accused conspired to use an unauthorized access device— specifically a skimming device— to illegally access the bank savings account of a certain Marie Fe Francis W. Seville-Ang, resulting in unauthorized withdrawals totaling P150,101.

The information stated that the alleged illegal access compromised the confidentiality and integrity of a computer system, constituting a cybercrime with a higher penalty under the law.

The accused posted P120,000 bail each and entered a plea of not guilty on October 25, 2017.

CASE BACKGROUND