The main figure in the pork barrel scam, Janet Lim-Napoles, and members of her family are facing prosecution for money laundering in a criminal case filed in the United States.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday confirmed that Napoles, along with her children Jo Christine, James Christopher and Jeane Catherine, her brother Reynaldo and his wife Ana Marie, has been indicted by a federal grand jury for the crime of conspiracy to commit money laundering, domestic money laundering and international money laundering.
“We have been collaborating with the US Department of Justice on these money laundering charges against Napoles. We welcome this development, as it paves the way for the return of the people’s money to our national treasury,” Guevarra said in an interview.
Guevarra said with the case against Napoles and five others moving forward in the US, he expects their counterpart in the US DoJ to seek her extradition to the US to stand trial there.
“We shall continue to extend legal assistance to our US counterparts, including the possible extradition of certain
persons who might be found here,” he said, referring to the possibility of extraditing Napoles and the other accused to the United States.
He acknowledged, however, that extradition would happen only if the cases in the Philippines are resolved and terminated.
Napoles, currently detained at the Camp Bagong Diwa detention center in Taguig City, is being tried for plunder, graft and other cases before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam.
Guevarra pointed out that only relatives of Napoles indicted in the money laundering case who are not facing any case in the country could be extradited to the US.
“If we receive a request for extradition and they are here, we will commence the necessary proceedings,” Guevarra said.
In the charge sheet, the federal grand jury accused Napoles and other defendants of fraudulently converting money from the multibillion-peso Priority Development Assistance Fund.
The money was paid to dozens of non-governmental organizations controlled by Napoles and diverted to kickbacks for the legislators and other government officials, and for the personal use of the Napoles family.
About $20 million of those funds were diverted to money remitters in the Philippines and then wired to Southern California bank accounts where the money was used to purchase real estate, shares in two businesses, two Porsche Boxsters, and finance the living expenses of three family members residing in the United States, Jeane Napoles and the Lim couple.
It was reported that about $12.5 million in Southern California real estate has been seized by the US Attorney’s Office and is subject to a civil forfeiture case pending before United States District Judge James V. Selna. If the court orders the assets forfeited, the United States will work with Philippine officials in an attempt to return the stolen funds to the Philippine government.
The money laundering case involved activities by the defendants from September 2012 to August 2014. In September 2012, an audit discovered the fraud and the US proceeds were exposed in July 2013.
Napoles was arrested in August 2013 and her bank accounts in the Philippines were frozen.
Subsequently, Napoles and her family members attempted to quietly liquidate the assets in the United States, secretly repatriate most of the resulting funds back to the Philippines and to other accounts in the US and United Kingdom, and disburse some of the funds to Jeane Napoles, who used the money to finance her lifestyle and open a fashion business.