DOJ summons Villars over SEC complaint
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued subpoenas to members of the Villar family over the criminal complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against their company, Villar Land Holdings Corp., for alleged market manipulation, insider trading and misleading disclosures that distorted share prices.
The SEC complaint filed on Jan. 30 accused Villar Land, formerly Golden MV Holdings Inc., of violating Sections 24.1 (d) and 26.3 of Republic Act No. 8799, or the Securities Regulation Code.
The 15 respondents in the case included company chair, former Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr., his wife, former Sen. Cynthia Villar, directors Cynthia Javarez, their children, Manuel Paolo Villar, incumbent Senators Camille Villar and Mark Villar, and independent directors Ana Marie Pagsibigan and Garth Castañeda.
“Subpoenas have been served upon the respondents,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said in a Viber message to reporters. He added that after an initial evaluation of the case, the next phase will be the conduct of a preliminary investigation.
Welcome opportunity
“The DOJ will determine if there is merit to the allegations by the SEC. Of course, as a matter of procedure, all respondents will be given an opportunity to present their defenses,” Martinez said.
Reached for comment, the Villar camp said in a statement that they “welcome the opportunity to explain their side and respond to the allegations in the complaint at the proper forum.”
“The Company and its directors are fully prepared to cooperate with the proper authorities and are confident that an impartial panel will find that no violation of law was committed,” it said.
It added that for now, they would refrain from commenting on the matter in compliance with the DOJ’s preliminary investigation.
Significant increase
The case stemmed from the SEC’s investigation of Villar Land’s public disclosures and trading activities, noting that the firm, in its 2024 financial statements, reported total assets of P1.33 trillion and a net income of P999.72 billion. This was a significant increase from P1.46 billion the year before.
The SEC alleged that the firm released the figures before the completion of an external audit. When it later submitted its audited financial statements, Villar Land reported total assets of only P35.7 billion, much lower than the earlier disclosed amount.
The SEC further claimed in its complaint that related entities engaged in trading activities that created artificial demand and supported the company’s share price.
