PIPC execs charged with syndicated estafa

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) filed syndicated estafa charges yesterday against 32 officers and employees of the Performance Investment Product Corp. (PIPC) and PIPC Corporation (PIPC Corp.) before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for allegedly duping their rich investors of at least $1.5 million.

NBI Deputy Director for Special Investigation Services Victor Bessat said they filed the charges against the 10 officers, incorporators and directors of PIPC and PIPC Corp. and 22 of its employees. Syndicated estafa is a non-bailable offense.

On top of the list of respondents are two Singaporean nationals Michael H.K. Liew, PIPC owner and PIPC Corp. chairman of the board and president; and Chua Pwey Chan, alias Albert Chua, part-owner of PIPC.

Other respondents are PIPC Corp. general manager and treasurer Cristina Tuason; corporate secretaries Ma. Cristina Jurado and Manuel Gonzales; incorporators Ernest Sy, Gabriel Dee, Mario Lorenzo, Jonas-Karl Perez, and Peter Donnely Barot.

Also included were employees Anthony Kierulf, Herley Jesuitas, Oudine Santos, Mike Floro, Jimbo Aragon, Egay Flores, Janice Silvestre, Maricar Gonzales, Cristine Yu, Stanley Chua-Unsu, Maria Pamela Morris, Barbara Garcia, Nicoline Amoranto, Micko Nubla, Eugene Go, Evan Santos, Jay Tengco, Mia Legarda, VJ Vergel de Dios, David Chua-Unsu, and Jonathan Ocampo. 

Regional Director Ruel Lasala, of the NBI-National Capital Region (NCR), said it appeared that the companies PIPC and PIPC Corp. are one and the same.

The PIPC office is located on the 15th floor of the Citybank Tower at no. 8741 Paseo de Roxas, Makati City, while its trading floor is on the 31st floor of the same building.

Tuason stated in her defense that her company PIPC Corp. (formerly Caravaggio Holdings Inc.), which is engaged in research and information technology, is not connected with Liew’s PIPC. But investigators said the fact that her office address is on the Citybank Towers’ 31st floor, which is also being occupied by PIPC, belies her claim.

“It seems that the PIPC merely acted as a front for PIPC Corp. because it is the company being introduced to the investors. PIPC is not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). We concluded that there is a grand conspiracy perpetrated by these persons to defraud their investors. Investors were deceived, damaged and prejudiced...a clear case of investment scam,” Lasala said.

Tuason denied being a part of PIPC, but the complainants said it was even Tuason who signed the acknowledgement receipts of the investments. The two companies also reportedly even carried the same logo.

“The respondents also failed to present any document or proof showing that the investments of their investors were traded abroad,” he added.

After almost a month-long investigation, Lasala said they filed the case against the respondents based on the complaints by 21 PIPC investors who were allegedly duped of a total of $1.5 million (approximately P75 million). He said more cases could be filed since they are still accepting complaints.

Head Agent Claro de Castro Jr., NBI Interpol Division chief, said they have already coordinated with their counterparts from other countries to include Liew and Chua in their list of “red notice”.

“If Liew and Chua are cited in their country, especially in countries where we have an extradition treaty, they will be arrested,” De Castro said. Liew left the country last June 20, while they have yet to determine Chua’s whereabouts.

The bureau also placed all the respondents under the Bureau of Immigration’s watchlist.

Senior Agent Jonathan Contreras, case officer, said that from year 2001 until July 2007, the complainants were reportedly duped into investing with PIPC on foreign exchange trading. They set the minimum amount of investment at $40,000.

The respondents allegedly gave a 100 percent guarantee that they would trade their investors’ money in multiple contracts and would be protected from incurring any losses for a trading cycle of eight weeks. PIPC offered a one to two percent monthly interest.

NBI officials have also provided the Securities and Exchange Commission and Anti-Money Laundering Council copies of documents from their investigation. The SEC needs the documents to file charges against the two firms for violating the Securities Regulation Code, while the AMLC will look into the firms’ bank accounts.

Meanwhile, foreign nationals Rod Sutton and John Batchelor were barred from boarding a Cathay Pacific flight for Hong Kong last night due to their alleged connection to PIPC.

Immigration officers said Sutton and Batchelor will have secure clearances from the Bureau of Immigration’s head office in Manila before they can be allowed to leave the Philippines.

Investors have earlier asked the Bureau of Immigration to place PIPC’s incorporators on its watchlist.    – With Michael Punongbayan