SyCip scion indicted in P564-M corporate row

The son of the late revered business leader Washington SyCip and four of his business associates have been criminally indicted in connection with the dispute over the ownership of P564 million worth of shares in a tuna canning company.

In an eight-page resolution, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found probable cause to file a case for violation of the corporate code against George SyCip, Annsley Bangkas, Alvin Dee, Jonathan Dee and Ibarra Malonzo, all executives of Alliance Select Foods International Inc.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Harvest All Investment Ltd., Victory Fund Ltd., and Bondeast Private Ltd., which accused them of violating Batas Pambansa Bilang 68, or the Corporation Code of the Philippines.

“The elements of the crime committed by [the] respondents are present in the instant case,” read a part of the Dec. 4 resolution signed by Justice Undersecretary Deo Marco.

“This tactic, as shown by clear evidence, of continuously delaying any decision on the matter indicates an evasive scheme adopted by respondents to defeat the rights of complainants to inspect the corporate books and records of Alliance,” it added.

Marco voided the two previous DOJ resolutions which dismissed the complaint filed by Harvest All, Victory Fund and Bondeast against SyCip and the others in 2014.

In January 2014, Alliance stockholder Albert Hong Hin Kay asked the company’s board of directors to let him scrutinize Alliance’s financial records after it suffered “substantial financial downturn.”

However, the respondents declined Kay’s request twice as they referred the matter to the seafood producer’s legal counsels and the entire board of directors.—MARLON RAMOS