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(1st UPDATE) Central One’s legal counsel, Don Chiong, says the cash is only part of the company’s operations, noting that the funds may be used for employee salaries and payments to suppliers
BATAAN, Philippines – The vaults inside the raided Central One hub in Bataan contained an initial estimate of P76.8 million, made up of pesos and other foreign currencies, but the company claimed the cold cash is merely for operational expense.
Operatives opened the vaults in Central One on Wednesday, November 20, as part of the return of search warrant.
Central One, a hub operating under the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB), was raided last month on the basis of a search warrant requested by authorities because they suspected the hub to be illegally operating a gaming hub. Evidence of illegal operations cited so far by authorities are gaming apps notorious for being used in cryptocurrency scams.
The opening of 12 vaults on Wednesday was still part of the search, yielding Philippine pesos, US dollars, Malaysian ringgits, and Singaporean dollars.
Central One’s legal counsel, Don Chiong, said the cash is part of the company’s operations, noting that the funds may be used for employee salaries and payments to suppliers.
“This is part of operations. It’s a big company employing 1,600 employees. So this money is used for operations, for salary, payment to various suppliers, etc. We are not hiding anything. We have to remember it’s the 13th month season,” Chiong added in Filipino.
Chiong said they are cooperating with authorities to open the vaults.
“We are here voluntarily. The only thing is the keys. There are some vaults that have passcodes and keys. Unfortunately, the keys are missing. But again, we are here to cooperate with authorities,” he added.
A total of 14 vaults were discovered during a raid conducted by the PAOCC, CIDG, and the PNP Special Action Force last October 31. However, two of the vaults were found to be already open during the operation.
The seized money and other items found in the vaults will be brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City before being transported to the Malolos court as part of the evidence.
There were 42 foreign workers apprehended by the Bureau of Immigration, but 41 of them were granted bail on recognizance with the help of Bataan 2nd District Representative Albert Garcia.
Rappler earlier reported that eight of the temporarily freed workers flew to Cebu on November 8 via a private plane. – Rappler.com
