Salim Group chair to expand investments

Indonesian billionaire and First Pacific chairman Anthony Salim quietly flew into Manila aboard his private jet to attend the state dinner hosted by Malacañang for Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Salim was accompanied to last Friday’s state dinner by partner and First Pacific managing director and CEO Manny Pangilinan. Not many know that Salim quietly slips in and out of Manila to meet with MVP and discuss potential investments, and attending some executive meetings. First Pacific is investing in the sugar industry in anticipation of the reduction of sugar tariffs in the region next year to about five percent. First Pacific owns 34 percent of shares in the country’s biggest raw sugar producer Roxas Holdings while it acquired 7.5 percent of the country’s largest refiner Victorias Milling Corp. earlier this year.

Suisse challenge

Financial services giant Credit Suisse Group was slapped with a $2.6 billion fine for helping Americans cheat on their taxes by setting up offshore accounts and keeping a database of companies and accountants who could help clients evade taxes.

Credit Suisse had pleaded guilty to the charges but a lot of Americans are not happy with the US Justice Department, saying the fine is too small considering that the systematic tax evasion activities for over a decade was already worth $12 billion as of 2006 alone. It also looks like none of the top executives will be prosecuted and that the bank’s operations will not be suspended because the US Securities and Exchange Commission waived a rule that bans firms convicted of a felony from acting as investment advisers.

Tax evasion is a serious crime, but observers say the US government is probably wary of making a repeat of the Enron experience where the company’s accounting firm Arthur Andersen – considered then as one of the Big Five international financial services firms – was also indicted and handed a guilty verdict. By the time the Supreme Court overturned the verdict, the company was already ruined and more than 85,000 had lost their employment. At any rate, the case of Credit Suisse is providing “lessons” both to prosecutors and (target) corporations. For one, cooperating with authorities instead of derailing investigation efforts seems to be the wiser option especially for those banks that have been “aiding and abetting” clients to cheat on their taxes. Two, there is such a thing as “too big to jail,” with junior bankers and executives getting charged but not the top management.

According to sources, 13 more banks are facing investigations and many of them have given hints that they are willing to cooperate with the IRS and other US authorities. We’re sure BIR chief Kim Henares – who has proposed the lifting of the country’s bank secrecy laws for taxation purposes – is closely monitoring to see whether she can also issue a “Suisse challenge.”

Ongpin’s unending woes

As if the lawsuit against UK-based equity fund Ashmore Group over the alleged fraudulent sale of a 2.5 percent equity in Alphaland as well as a graft case before the Sandiganbayan are not enough, business tycoon Roberto “Bobby” Ongpin is facing another challenge after an ex-employee filed a serious illegal detention case against him before the National Bureau of Investigation. Ongpin’s former employee Eduveges Batalan claims that he was prevented from leaving Balesin Island and forced to sign an affidavit admitting that he stole company funds.

Ongpin’s lawyer Rodolfo Ponferada vehemently denied the allegations, describing them as false and contrived, and coming from a disgruntled employee who was terminated for stealing millions from the company. This is the reason why there was a “Notice to the Public” published earlier in a business daily, explained Ongpin’s lawyer, adding that a criminal complaint for qualified theft was also filed against Batalan before the Makati City Prosecutor’s office as early as February.  

Ongpin’s legal advisers believe somebody powerful and close to the Aquino administration is after Ongpin – which is why he has been advised to take a backseat and let his lawyers handle this latest glitch. It looks like the normally feisty Ongpin has taken his lawyer’s advice – remaining out of sight and low-key so far.

‘Killing media softly’

At the Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards last Thursday, Male Broadcast Journalist of the Year Anthony Taberna was asked about his thoughts on media killings. The International Safety News Institute has ranked the Philippines the third deadliest country for journalists, next only to Syria and Iraq. Taberna said that while media killings are a very serious concern, what’s worse is the irresponsible and reckless reporting that is “killing journalists softly.”

Taberna defended media colleagues who were named in a newspaper article on Benhur Luy’s “Napoles List” of individuals who supposedly received money from pork fund scam queen Janet Lim Napoles, saying it was irresponsible to print the story without verifying the facts first. Reputations are being tarnished and media credibility is being shot to pieces – and when people do not believe the media, that is even more dangerous, he said.

Opinion Writer of the Year awardee Jojo Robles of Manila Standard Today also questioned the timing since all those other lists already surfaced before the newspaper.

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