Commissioner Kim Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue said Thursday the government is already taking steps to probe businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles properties abroad.
“We are coordinating with foreign governments kasi sa foreign governments pati bank accounts puwede namin makuha dito hindi,” Henares told reporters in Manila, adding that the government’s purpose was merely to “get information” from these foreign governments.
The BIR is in the middle of investigating if Napoles, embroiled in a P10-billion pork barrel fund scam, has been paying the right taxes.
Napoles had insisted her wealth came from legitimate sources, saying she owns shares in a mining company in Indonesia. It has likewise been reported thatvshe owns properties in the US.
“If she has business abroad, mas malaki ang problema niya because the US tax you in a global manner… if you have a US connection,” Henares said.
The BIR chief refused to elaborate further on her agency’s ongoing probe, saying: “Puwede kapag handa na kami, sasabihin ko.”
Henares also revealed that some of the almost 30 properties earlier reported to be owned by Napoles could have been placed under other people’s names.
Similar to doing a “google search,” Henares said her agency earlier asked around different agencies and searched their databases for any properties owned by Napoles.
“So iyong nage-generate (so far i connection with Napoles) hindi nagmamatch sa 30 na real properties, 28 dati, ngayon 30… hindi sya nagma-match,” Henares said, adding the BIR is now in the process of tracing who the owners of these properties are.
“Wala kaming tinutukoy na kaninong nakapangalan. Sinasabi lang namin hindi lang nagma-match kaya me additional time and effort (na kailangan),” Henares said.
She added: “Hindi ko naman sinasabi na magnanakaw siya o kriminal siya.” — ELR, GMA News
