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THE
government has given up pursuing the Chingkoe couple for
criminal fraud.
Instead,
spouses Faustino and Gloria Chingkoe are now being
sought for tax evasion, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Cabantac said on Friday.
The
Chingkoes are in Canada and have thwarted several
government attempts at extraditing them to face fraud
charges, in connection with the P5.3-billion spurious
tax-certificate scam.
The
fraud, allegedly committed between 1994 and 1998, has
been investigated and pursued by government lawyers in
various courts with help from two special task forces.
Some of the recovery cases filed by the BIR and the
Bureau of Customs, which ran after the companies to
which the Chingkoes sold their tax credit certificates (TCCs)
on allegedly contrived arrangements—say, TCCs as payment
for ghost oil deliveries to their textile firms—have
languished for nearly a decade.
Despite
warnings by concerned parties, the government has failed
to freeze the Chingkoes’ assets; Faustino has been in
and out of the country for at least 11 times, with court
permission. They are known to properties in Canada, as
well.
According to Cabantac, there was no way the Chingkoes
can be brought back to the Philippines on the strength
of criminal fraud, as the couple has gained the Canadian
government’s sympathy.
Canada
views with alarm Manila’s poor human-rights record and
has thus far resisted attempts at extraditing the
Chingkoes with this in mind.
A tax
complaint is a different matter altogether, according to
Cabantac, who was optimistic the Canadian government
would view the tax cases with favor.
Cabantac
said the BIR believes the Canadian government will allow
them to repatriate the Chingkoe couple “on the basis of
tax complaints.”
The
Chingkoes are the alleged owners of four companies whose
participation in the fraudulent multibillion-peso TCC
scam are well-documented.
Cabantac’s boss, Lilian Hefti, has filed tax-evasion
charges against Master Colour Systems Inc., Fiber
Technology Corp., Spintex and Jantex Philippines, all of
which are allegedly owned by the Chingkoe couple.
Along
with Prestige Brands Philippines Inc. and four of its
officials, the Chingkoe companies have been charged with
tax evasion for income generated from 2000 to 2002.
The BIR
said all five firms failed to pay income tax aggregating
P33.668 million despite having earned profits from their
lucrative operations during the period. |
