Court dismisses tax charges against Estrada friend Tan

Asian Economic News, Sept 4, 2000

MANILA, Aug. 31 Kyodo

A Philippine court has dismissed a 25.27 billion peso tax-evasion case against Lucio Tan, a Chinese-Filipino tycoon and close friend of Philippine President Joseph Estrada, on a technicality, media reports said Thursday.

The Court of Appeals dismissed the case against Tan, 66, because the Department of Justice filed a records request 11 days late, the reports said.

Along with 10 officers from his flagship firm Fortune Tobacco Corp., Tan and nine companies were slapped with nine counts of tax evasion covering the 1990-1992 tax years. The charges covered unpaid value-added and ad valorem taxes as well as low income tax payments.

Tan, a major contributor to Estrada's election campaign in 1998, is a cigarette and beer magnate. He is also a majority shareholder in Philippine Airlines and the Philippine National Bank, making him one of the richest businessmen in the country.

He was labeled an Estrada crony due to his closeness to the president, and has been seen with Estrada on state visits to countries such as the United States.