OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales has found Chief Justice Renato Corona liable for money laundering for accumulating at least P667 million in unexplained wealth, a report from her office showed on Wednesday.
According to the 20-page Investigation Report, prepared by the five-member Special Panel of Investigators, Corona and his wife Cristina only registered an income of P30 million from 2002 to 2011—an amount that could only match the combined acquisition cost of the couple’s four condominiums, estimated at P30 million.
The condominiums are in Bellagio 1 and Bonifacio Ridge in Taguig City, The Columns in Makati City, and Burgundy Plaza in Quezon City.
The report also showed that Corona has $10 million (P420 million) and P242 million worth of transactional balance under his dollar and peso accounts, respectively, from April 2003 to December 22, 2011.
“The undersigned investigators respectfully submit that the foregoing findings may involve a violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act [AMLA]. In addition, the acquisition of wealth by Corona appears to be grossly disproportionate to his known income as a public [official],” the report said.
Under the AMLA, a financial transaction worth P500,000 and above requires the bank to report it to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) so that the body could track it.
From 2001 to 2010, the Chief Justice’s net worth increased by P8.97 million. This amount, however, trumped the P36.7 million that he did not declare in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth in 2007, 2009 and 2010 as mandated by law.
The report also hinted that Corona’s questionable wealth is greater than P677 million, considering that the daily cost of living, commensurate to the social stature of his family, as well as his various travels abroad, is yet to be taken into account.
“If we are to include the same, it would significantly increase the total possible unexplained wealth,” the report said.
The report was based on government records from the Office of the President (wealth statement), House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and Senate Electoral Tribunal (Certificate of Allowances and Bonuses), the evidence presented by the prosecution before the Senate impeachment court, Land Registration Authority, Bureau of Immigration, Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Trade and Industry, AMLC, National Statistics Office, and the Assessor’s Office in the cities of Quezon, Makati and Taguig.
