Former BOC Collector, PAL Consultant Attempted Extortion from PAL Officials
Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) collector and former Philippine Airlines (PAL) consultant arrested for extortion attempt.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detained a former BOC district collector and a former PAL consultant after they were caught in the act of extorting P12 million from PAL officials. Ben Sebastian and Juan Tan were identified as the suspects.
The two were apprehended during an entrapment operation at the Century Park Hotel in Malate. According to Bilyonaryo’s article, authorities recovered P11 million from them.
Sebastian wanted P12 million from PAL’s legal counsel, Lucio Espinoza, in exchange for expediting the release of the flag carrier’s jet fuel imports. He labeled the attempt “simply extortion.”
“Today, we had this entrapment operation against certain individuals who are threatening or coercing our client, Philippine Airlines, for our client to release a certain amount of money so that the authority to release imported goods or ATRIG will be released by the Bureau of Customs and Bureau of Internal Revenue so that the aviation fuel will be released,” Espinosa explained.
The suspects, who are accused of robbery and extortion, have disputed the claims. Sebastian denied any involvement and claimed that the money was a “gift” from Tan.
“It was a gift from Kapitan (Lucio Tan) for being his assistant for 40 years. Why would I extort from PAL when I could easily ask for money from Kapitan?” Sebastian told Bilyonaryo.
In a statement, PAL stated that it was already collaborating with the NBI over a former consultant who was involved in an extortion attempt. PAL wants to be clear that no illicit payments were made to the former consultant.
READ ALSO: Arnie Teves Camp Reveals House Speaker’s Decision on Request for 2-Month Leave
What are your thoughts on this article? Just feel free to leave your reactions in the comment section.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We aim to give the freshest and in-demand content to our visitors. Come back next time at PhilNews for more updated news.