BID orders arrest of Briton for defrauding government of millions

The Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) ordered yesterday the arrest of a British businessman for allegedly working in the country without a permit and defrauding the govenment of millions of pesos in unpaid taxes.

Immigration Commissioner Andrea Domingo ordered the arrest of Jeffrey Robert Antley after the bureau found sufficient evidence that he is engaged in distributing and selling imported shipping equipment in the Philippines without a permit.

Antley is the manager of the Singapore-based Unitor Ships Service Pte. Ltd. licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission to provide information about its products to Philippine offshore and industrial markets.

According to a complaint filed by lawyer Rex Rico with the BID, Antley, on several occasions, sold Unitor products in the Philippines in violation and disregard of the firm’s license.

"The SEC does not authorize Unitor to directly sell its products in the Philippines," Rico stated in his complaint.

The complaint showed that all unauthorized sales transactions entered by Antley were not covered by corresponding value added taxes (VAT), while its importations were likewise not covered by taxes and duties. Rico further claimed that the government had lost millions of pesos in taxes as a result of Antley’s illegal business. Rico also asked the BID to deport Antley for being an undesirable alien.

BID legal officer Rolando Santos reported that his agents failed to locate Antley at his address at the fourth floor of the PSE Building at 3671 Bautista corner Dayap streets in Makati City.

Domingo said Antley is facing deportation charges aside from the huge fines for tax evasion, misrepresentation and violation of the Customs and Tariff Code.