Euro generals probe to include De la Paz's millionaire friend

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman’s new investigation on the so-called Euro generals case will also focus on the possible filing of criminal cases against the millionaire friend of former Philippine National Police (PNP) comptroller Eliseo de la Paz.

Tyrone Ng Areola, the businessman who claimed in a Senate investigation that he gave De la Paz 45,000 euros to buy an expensive Roger Dubois wristwatch in Vienna, Austria, will be probed for possible violation of Central Bank laws.

Assistant Special Prosecutor III Jeofferson Toribio said De la Paz’s friend should be included in the new probe, along with other delegates to the 77th Interpol General Assembly trip in October 2008.

Toribio recommended that further preliminary investigation be conducted to determine the exact amount of money and currency brought out of the Philippines by De la Paz and his wife Maria Fe “and the participation and/or liability, if any, of the other PNP delegates to Russia.”

He said Areola, along with Evita Caringal and Ahmad Galwash Waja as manager of Felisa Sakaluran Enterprise, should be probed for possible violation of Banko Sentral Ng Pilipinas Circular No. 507 in relation to Section 36 of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act.

The law “penalizes any person who brings into or takes out of the Philippines foreign currency in excess of $10,000 and fails to declare the same in writing.”

During the Senate investigation into the Euro generals case in November 2008, Areola said he gave 45,000 euros to De la Paz after learning that he was going to make a side trip to Vienna, Austria where the wristwatch is on sale.

At Shremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, De la Paz and his wife were barred from leaving after being caught carrying 105,000 euros or P6.9 million in cash.

The Office of the Ombudsman conducted an investigation into the incident and initially, after a fact-finding probe, recommended the filing of graft and other criminal charges against ranking officials of the PNP including former Director General Avelino Razon Jr.

But after preliminary investigation, the anti-graft agency only ordered the filing of charges against De la Paz and his wife.