‘Dante Tan paid A$220,000 for Aussie citizenship’

Fugitive businessman Dante Tan allegedly paid A$220,000 for his Australian citizenship, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

Quoting Australian lawmakers, Drilon said the money reportedly went to Karim Kirswani, an Australian of Lebanese origin who is a friend of Immigration Commissioner Phillip Ruddock, with whom he allegedly lobbied for Tan’s citizenship.

He said the Filipino businessman had also made a A$10,000 donation to Ruddock’s election campaign in October 2001.

Tan left Australia for an unknown destination about three weeks ago when the scandal about how he acquired Australian citizenship erupted. One news report said he flew to China, where he is believed to have set up a business.

Drilon and Senators Juan Flavier and John Osmeña have just arrived from the Australian capital Canberra. They were invited by the Australian Parliament.

Drilon said the Tan visa scandal is front page stuff in Australian newspapers and the subject of intense debates in Parliament.

He also said government will seek the freezing of Tan’s $471,000 bank deposit with the Commonwealth Bank of Sydney.

He said he has informed Attorney General Daryl Williams and Shadow Attorney General Robert McClelland of the DOJ plan.

Tan, former president of BW Resources Corp., is wanted here for stock fraud. During the time of his friend ousted President Joseph Estrada, he allegedly manipulated BW stocks, driving the local stock market to near collapse.

Many Estrada friends and officials of the administration then, and even elective officials were said to have made millions, courtesy of Tan, who fled the country when President Arroyo took over from Estrada.

Drilon also decried the fact that the government would not have known that Tan was in Australia had not the citizenship scandal landed on the front pages of Australian newspapers.

He said the DOJ should try all its best to bring back Tan, who is also a potential witness in Estrada’s plunder case.

Tan contributed tens of millions to the P3.2 billion Jose Velarde account in Equitable PCI Bank that prosecutors claim belongs to Estrada.

Drilon said the government should also run after other potential Estrada witnesses, including businessman Jaime Dichaves and jueteng auditor Yolanda Ricaforte.