Dante Tan not yet off the hook in BW scam — SEC

Controversial businessman Dante Tan is not yet off the hook in the BW case as there are still pending stock manipulation cases filed against him in various courts, an official of the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

"We want to correct the impression that Dante Tan is already scot-free. He is not. There are still so many cases that have been filed against him. What has been dismissed was only one of them," SEC chairperson Lilia R. Bautista told reporters yesterday.

The statement was in response to a recent decision by the Pasig Regional Trial Court, dismissing with finality one of the stock market manipulation cases against Tan.

In an 18-page order dated Jan. 20, the court said the government, particularly the Department of Justice, failed to substantiate its charge that Tan "squeezed the market float" to prop up share prices of BW Resources Corp. in 1999.

The SEC said records filed with various courts show that there are still 10 cases that are current and pending against Tan and others accused in connection with the alleged price-rigging of BW shares. These criminal cases were filed against Tan for violation of the Revised Securities Act.

"The reported dismissal of one case, criminal case No. 119830, does not in any way affect or prejudice the development of other cases filed. More importantly, after consultations with the handling prosecutors from the Department of Justice, it was agreed that the state is going to take all appropriate legal recourse to seek the reversal of the dismissal of criminal case no. 119830," the SEC said in a statement.

In dismissing the case, RTC Judge Briccio C. Ygana said two years and eight months were not sufficient for the government to present its evidence against the former BW controlling shareholder.

The Justice Department may elevate the case to the Supreme Court only on the basis of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the magistrate.

From 2000 to 2002, the SEC received a total P21.27 million in settlement offers from individuals and brokerage houses tagged in the BW scandal.

The offers of settlement are allowed under Sec. 55 of the Securities Regulation Code which states parties being investigated or charged may propose in writing an offer of settlement with the corporate regulator.

Sec. 52 of the same law provides that the SEC may consider the offer based on the nature of the investigation or proceeding, the timing and the public interest.

The SEC investigation was spurred by the phenomenal rise in the share prices of BW from only P1.98 per share to a peak of P107 per share in just seven months. The shares have since fallen to below P1.