Corona: 82 bank accounts a malicious lie

MONEY TRAIL Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales presents the flow of dollars in bank accounts reportedly owned by Chief Justice Renato Corona during the impeachment trial. RAFFY LERMA

MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Renato Corona on Tuesday branded as “deception, exaggeration, misrepresentation and malicious lie” an allegation that he had at least $12 million deposits in 82 bank accounts.

Corona, testifying before the Senate acting as an impeachment court, noted that report of the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) used by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales as basis for saying that he multi-million dollar bank deposits was not “authenticated.”

“This AMLAC report that the Ombudsman furnished the impeachment court is not authenticated,” he said.

“There’s no predicate crime, no investigation, no court order, no notice to depositor. Clearly, it came from a polluted source,” he added.

Corona said he then called a team of accountants to study the report that the Ombudsman presented and submitted to the Senate.

After studying the report, the Chief Justice said it was very clear that Carpio-Morales’ testimony was “one of deception, exaggeration and misrepresentation.”

However, Corona admitted that  he has four dollar bank accounts but did not declare these deposits in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) because of the  ‘confidentiality provision”  on all dollar accounts.

As of December 2011, Corona said his remaining banks  accounts were  one in   Bank of the Philippine Island (BP1) in  San Francisco del Monte in Quezon City,  one in Allied Bank and two in Philippine Savings Bank.