US indicts ‘suspect’ in graft: prosecutors

Anti-graft official axed

MANILA, Aug 1, (Agencies): A businesswoman at the centre of a massive Manila corruption scandal has been charged in the US with laundering about $20 million allegedly pilfered from the Philippine state, prosecutors said, adding they would seek her extradition. A federal grand jury in California indicted Tuesday Philippine national Janet Lim Napoles, a key suspect in the so-called “pork barrel” scandal where politicians allegedly embezzled roughly $200 million that was supposed to help poor Filipinos. Napoles, along with five family members, is accused of wiring $20 million of the stolen money from the Philippines to California bank accounts, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.

Lim, 54, is already behind bars in the Philippines, where she is on trial over graft charges stemming from the alleged embezzlement.

The Manila law firm representing her declined to comment. The US indictment alleges the defendants used the money to buy real estate, shares in businesses, two Porsche Boxsters and finance the living expenses of three US-based Napoles family members.

“We will work with our Philippine counterparts to secure the extradition of the defendants to the United States,” said US Attorney Nick Hanna.

The US government won a court order in 2015 to freeze $12.5 million worth of assets bought by Napoles and others using the allegedly stolen funds.

“If the court orders the assets forfeited, the United States will work ... to return the stolen funds back to the Philippine government,” the statement said.

Napoles

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The office of the Philippine president has sacked a deputy ombudsman for revealing information about an inquiry into alleged unexplained wealth of President Rodrigo Duterte, saying that his intent was to discredit him.

Arthur Carandang is liable for graft and betrayal of public trust for publicising evidence he had on the alleged undeclared wealth of Duterte and his family, according to a 10-page decision issued by executive secretary, Salvador Medialdea.

The investigation into Duterte by the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent agency, followed a complaint by a prominent senator that Duterte had amassed as much as 2.2 billion pesos ($41.5 million) when he was a city mayor. Duterte denies that.