An anti-graft court has declared a businessman facing graft charges involving tax credit certificates (TCC) a fugitive after he jumped bail.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division declared a fugitive from justice Indian national Lila Dhar Sharma, a senior vice president of Indo-Phils. Textile, Inc. and Indo-Phils. Cotton Mills, Inc.
The court made the ruling after he failed to return to the Philippines.
Sharma faces two graft cases involving alleged illegal transfer of P53.8 million tax credit certificates to an oil firm.
The Indian national’s P60,000 travel bond and P60,000 bail bonds were formally forfeited Wednesday by the Sandiganbayan’s Sheriff and Security Services Office and transferred to the Sandiganbayan-Judiciary Development Fund (JDF).
The anti-graft court also issued a warrant of arrest against Sharma for his immediate commitment to jail in the event of his return to the Philippines.
The accused was earlier granted a permit to travel abroad in 2004 despite objections of prosecutors who argued that the accused was a flight risk.
The anti-graft court issued a resolution last September 15, 2007 that was sent to Dickson Berberabe, Sharma’s lawyer. The resolution gave the defendant a 15-day ultimatum to personally report before the anti-graft court. He was pronounced a fugitive and his bonds were confiscated after he still failed to comply.
Sharma and three others were accused by the Office of the Ombudsman on March 27, 2000 of illegally transferring tax credit certificates worth P53,803,999 to Pilipinas Shell and Petroleum Corp between November 1996 to February 1997.
His co-accused are: Antonio P. Belicena, former Finance Undersecretary and Department of Finance–One Stop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center chief; deputy executive director Uldarico Andutan; and, Pilipinas Shell general manager Pacifico R. Cruz.
Based on records of the case, Indo Phils. Textile was granted seven TCCs worth P31.67 million which it transferred to the oil firm in January 1997.
Indo Phils. Cotton, meanwhile, received three TCCs amounting to P22.14 million, which it also ceded over to the oil company between November 1996 to February 1997.