Kim Chiu's sister Lakam receives multiple raps for P44-million qualified theft case
MANILA, Philippines — The qualified theft case Kim Chiu filed against her older sister Lakambini or Lakam has escalated after legal authorities charged the latter with over a hundred counts.
It can be recalled that last December, Kim filed the case in Quezon City after finding "serious financial discrepancies discovered" in their business, House of Little Bunny (HOLB) Philippines Inc.
The Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City, according to a resolution dated September 1, formally charged Lakam for 124 counts of qualified theft.
This was after reviewing the evidence and statements indicated in a statement given by the "It's Showtime" host.
The office found the six elements for qualified theft were present and that Lakam, as HOLB Philippines' co-incorporator and corporate secretary, had Kim's "trust and confidence" as a business partner
Those positions, it said, gave Lakam authorization to access the company's joint corporate bank accounts she held with Kim, thus Lakam at the legal obligation to protect and use company funds for "legitimate corporate expenses."
Investigations found Lakam withdrew funds without Kim's knowledge and used the money for "casino junkets and other personal business ventures" not involving HOLB Philippines.
"The evidence on record establishes that respondent Lakambini unlawfully took and appropriated corporate funds in the aggregate amount of P44,396,331.65, fully aware that the same did not belong to her," said the resolution.
This has no Board Resolution, Secretary's Certificate, or any corporate authorization presented indicating that Lakam could withdraw and use corporate funds for her "personal benefit or investment activities."
As corporate secretary, Lakam demonstrated "grave abuse of the trust and confidence" for the "unlawful appropriation" of company funds.
"By exploiting the access and authority entrusted to her, respondent Lakambini was able to divert corporate funds for her personal gain, without the use of violence, intimidation, or force upon things."
The 124 counts were derived from the number of occasions evidence indicated "unlawful withdrawals" from the bank accounts, each one considered to be a"single act with an independent existence and criminal intent on its own."
What Kim said
Kim mentioned in her statement that she is the exclusive dealer of the Thailand-based HOLB since October 2022, tapping the assistance of Lakam due to her busy schedule and formally opened a Philippine arm in January 2023.
As president and majority stockholder of HOLB Philippines, Kim invested capital stock worth P800,000 while Lakam, who was appointed as "treasurer and general manager," invested P200,000 in the company.
The sisters put up two joint bank accounts for the company's transactions: one a checking account for operational expenses, the other a corporate savings account where income would be deposited.
Lakam reportedly proposed to Kim's withdrawals from the accounts would not be allowed without mutual approval. Because of Kim's work schedule, it was Lakam who frequently deposited, withdre, and transferred funds from the accounts.
Kim, however, discovered in mid-2025 "unusually large withdrawals" from the accounts, including up to P1.8 million in "online transfers" from the second week of June.
The host-actress confronted her sister on the issue and Lakam reportedly apologized and vowed to return the money, though Kim said her sister did give a clear explanation at the time.
A month later, Kim discovered the checking account's balance had gone from P9 million down to just over P4,000, approaching Lakam again after seeing nearly P2.8 million in "questionable" bank transactions from the third week of July 2025.
Lakam admitted to withdrawing the money but only returned P2 million that day, which Kim found insufficient after finding more cash missing from the accounts.
Kim gave her older sister an ultimatum to return the remaining money within a week, and it was at that point, with witnesses present based on the initial statement that Lakam further admitted the "unauthorized withdrawals and transfers" were used for "casino gambling" and to pay off "personal debts."
The host-actress also accused her sister of mishandling finances after not paying tax obligations on time despite being reminded to do so.
When Kim's personal accountant and HOLB Philippines' corporate accountant could not provide the company's financial statements, Kim ultimately tapped her lawyers to investigate.
They found up to P69 million in "unauthorized withdrawals and transfers" from both accounts between October 2022 and July 2025, with Lakam signing off on checks to her own account and to a bakeshop franchise she owns (which was gifted to her by Kim).
Some of the withdrawals, lawyers also found, took place in two large Metro Manila casinos, which for Kim, was in line with Lakam's admission that corporate funds were used for gambling purposes.
In September last year, one of Kim's attorneys demanded Lakam pay back the P69 million; however, the latter's lawyer denied the allegations of "unauthorized transactions," claiming that HOLB Philippines had no debts to suppliers, employees, or the customs or internal revenue bureaus.
The lack of an explanation for the "unauthorized transactions" prompted Kim to ask her accountant for all of the company's corporate documents and tapped an auditing firm for an independent investigation.
The latter found the company's legitimate expenses were around P5.5 million for 2025 but reached P36.65 million in "missing, unaccounted, or potentially misappropriated funds," leading to Kim to ultimately file the case against Lakam.
Lakam's response
In her own statement given to the prosecutor's office, Lakam denied her sister's allegations of qualified theft.
She denied being HOLB Philippines' treasurer and general manager — only its corporate secretary — as well as supposedly being charged with the "safekeeping of corporate funds, management of the company's daily and overall operations, supervision of staff, procurement of supplies, and ensuring compliance with government operations."
Lakam claimed that the bank accounts weren't only for the company's operational expenses, but that the sisters agreed to use them for their other "business ventures."
Because they were joint accounts, Lakam said authorization from the other was not required for transactions, hence finding it inappropriate to label her withdrawals and online transfers as "unauthorized."
She also called the auditing firm's findings inaccurate as it did not review complete records and documents,
Lakam further claimed that she used to take money "junkets" or "business ventures" in casinos to grow their company's money, using them as funds for private casino rooms and players' winnings, given that investors would receive 2 or 3% daily interest
However, Lakam's supposed business venture failed and she was unable to recover the money she invested, apologizing to Kim out of shame. Lakam also denied the allegations that the money was used for casino gambling.
Lakam complained that she and Kim have lived in the same house for 15 years but she was barred from entering following Kim's case filing, therefore preventing her from having access to personal items like her passport.
She questioned Kim's filing being accompanied by media coverage which caused her public distress, as well as her sister's misrepresentation that HOLB PH was a "one-person corporation" where Kim was its president and treasurer.
Another point Lakam questioned was Kim filing the qualified theft case on behalf of the company after someone else claiming to be its corporate secretary signed off on its certification.
As the company's "co-owner, incorporator, director, at shareholder," Lakam stated she had the right to access the bank accounts, and that tax responsibilities fell on Kim and the company's accountant.
Accountant's side
The accountant in question, Helena Tayag, vehemently denied the allegations she was complicit in the "conspiracy, indispensable cooperation, concealment, or participation" of the supposed "unauthorized transactions."
In her own statement, Tayag claimed she wasn't the company's corporate accountant or employee for that matter, was never part of its payroll, and had no authority on its financial operations — she's only been Kim's personal accountant for well over a decade.
She is responsible for preparing and submitting Kim's personal tax returns, which at the time were not an issue. The only money she'd receive would be from a monthly retainer fee as Kim's personal accountant.
Tayag claimed that it was Lakam who paid Kim's taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and would only discuss topics on Kim's job through Lakam and Kim's road managers.
According to the accountant, she rarely speaks to Kim directly and has only personally met her four times in their working relationship.
In January 2023, Tayag said she only assisted Lakam in preparing the documents to register HOLB Philippines as a corporation with the BIR.
She even reminded Lakam several times to hire a corporate accountant for the company to handle its salaries, permits, and tax obligations, but none was ever hired.
Tayag cited "utang na loob" to being Kim's personal accountant as to why she filed the company's taxes so that it would not receive any penalties, reiterating she never received a salary for it.
The accountant never held any money nor did she have access to the bank accounts, only receiving the company's sales data via Viber and e-mail to fix the documents to be given to the BIR for official staff to pay at banks.
She also clarified that preparing "financial statements, balance sheets, income statements, at cash flow reports" was not part of her job in the company, reiterating that any "deficiencies, inconsistencies, or missing financial records can't be attributed to her as she isn't a company employee.
The Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City subsequently dropped the qualified theft case against Tayag due to the lack of evidence.
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