Businessman Antonio Tiu. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
MANILA, Philippines—The authorities should pursue leads that businessman Antonio Tiu could be laundering money for Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.
Cayetano said the authorities should follow the paper trail of companies in the British Virgin Islands that he said were infusing money into Tiu’s companies in the Philippines.
“It’s emerging that Mr. Tiu is not only a dummy of the Binays. There’s a possibility that he’s laundering money for them,” he told reporters after visiting inmates at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
Cayetano claimed that sums of money being circulated by Tiu came from companies in the British Virgin Islands, and Binay’s lawyers had connections with these.
In an earlier hearing, he said Three Star Capital Ltd and Southern Field Ltd. invested in Greenergy Holdings Inc. and AgriNurture Inc. (ANI), both owned by Tiu.
Tiu had also admitted that Black River Food Fund invested P1.3 billion in ANI in 2011.
“There’s a paper trail, and we have other information that will come out soon, and other leads,” Cayetano said.
The senator said that a current review of the financial records of Tiu and his companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Philippine Stock Exchange, and the Bureau of Internal Revenue could help unravel this.
He said the Senate had earlier asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council to pursue the leads.
“We can’t ask them to reveal their investigation because this is confidential. But once they file a protection order with the court, they can disclose this,” he said.
“But I have good information that the links are being made. That’s why the earlier the Binays come out, and the earlier they explain, the investigation will be faster,” he added.
In Thursday’s hearing on Makati’s allegedly overpriced carpark, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said it had adverse findings regarding the financial disclosures of Sunchamp’s related companies, including Greenergy Holdings Inc., Agri-nurture Inc. (ANI), Agrifortuna and Earthright Holdings Inc.
SEC Chair Teresita Herbosa said the agency was now reviewing and investigating the financial reports of the publicly listed companies Greenergy and ANI to find if these were accurate.
“We have found some adverse findings, or some incomplete disclosures. We will be issuing notices of clarificatory conferences to company officers as well as the auditors,” she told the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee.
The inquiry has been expanded to cover allegations that Binay owned a P1.2-billion, 350-hectare farm estate in Rosario town in Batangas province.
Binay has claimed leasing only nine hectares of the farm. Tiu, owner of the Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corp., has come forward to claim ownership of a 150-hectare portion of the property.
Tiu had earlier claimed making a downpayment of P11 million on the property.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV confirmed that they were now validating confidential information on laundering activities by Tiu.
“There’s that and more. A lot of confidential information is being passed on to us, and we’re validating them,” he said in a text message. “We’re still gathering more evidence before we’d come out in public about it.”
At Thursday’s hearing, Cayetano told Tiu that most of his companies, including ANI, had been incurring losses, but appeared to be awash in cash.
When told that ANI incurred a loss of P800 million in one year, Tiu explained that this arose from a “write-off of non-cash assets,” and was different from actual loss.
“I’m looking at the infusion of money, it’s all coming from you,” Cayetano said. “Money is also flowing in companies that you own.” Tiu shot back: “That’s not true.”
When pressed further, Tiu blurted out: “There’s no doubt about the credibility of my foreign investors.” He said this was fully disclosed, saying he was majority owner of the companies.
Cayetano said this would be scrutinized in the next hearing.
“So far, in my study, looking at your financial disclosures, the money that you’re circulating comes from the outside,” the senator told Tiu.
Trillanes followed up and said that at the proper time, the committee would disclose the details of Tiu’s withdrawal of hundreds of millions of pesos from a bank in Quezon City. “That will probably explain his money laundering activities,” he said.