A Filipino couple wanted by Manila for a multi-billion peso tax scam have fled to Richmond, B.C. where they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars buying up real estate.

An investigation by The Asian Pacific Post shows that Faustino Chingkoe, his wife Gloria Eng Eng Chingkoe and their family are residing at Tolmie St. in Richmond in a house worth over C$500,000.

The couple has also invested in several other properties on Westminster Highway and on Alderbridge Way in Richmond, according to property records.

The Chingkoes are wanted for 83 cases of violations of the Philippines Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as falsification of public documents.

Telephone calls by The Asian Pacific Post to the Chingkoe's were not returned.

Lawyer Alan Ventura of a special Philippine presidential task force investigating the so-called Chingkoe tax credit scam asked the Justice Department Manila last week to work on the extradition of the couple.

They and several others are accused of defrauding the government of some 5 billion pesos (C$130 million) in tax revenues.

All the other respondents in the case involving 12 Chingkoe companies believed to have participated in the scam have been arrested and have posted bail.

"The extradition case against Chingkoe is just one of the many efforts of the task force in fully implementing its mandate to help fight graft and corruption," said Philippines Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho who chairs the executive committee overseeing the task force.

Sources indicated that Faustino Chingkoe left for Vancouver, Canada, via Hong Kong on a Cathay Pacific flight on Dec. 12, 2001, a day before charges were filed against him.

It is believed that he was travelling on a South Korean passport.

It is understood that his wife had fled to Richmond a year earlier as the investigation in the Philippines began.

The scam, which defrauded the government of some 5.3 billion pesos in tax revenues, involves the fraudulent issuance of tax credit certificates. Some believe the amount may have reached 20 billion pesos (C$520 million).

Some unscrupulous Filipino companies allegedly submitted spurious documents to claim the tax credits, a form of tax incentive enjoyed by exporters, particularly garment companies.

Exporters under the scheme could use the credits to offset payments for taxes on imported raw materials and supplies, and for corporate income taxes.

They were also allowed to transfer these to any company in exchange for goods and services.

Of the 5.3 billion pesos, 2.5 billion pesos (C$65 million) in tax credit certificates were cornered by the 12 companies of the Chingkoe group.

Among the companies that allegedly benefited from the tax credit certificates are Advance Color System; Alliance Thread Inc.; Allstar Spinning Mills, Inc.; Diamond Knitting Corp.; Express Colour Industries; Fiber Technology Corp.; Filstar Textile Indl. Inc.; FLB Int'l Fiber Corp.; Jantex Phils., Inc.; Jibtex Indl Corp.; Master Colour System; Spintex Int'l Inc., all of which are under the Chingkoe Group of Companies.

The other textile firms aside from the Chingkoe Group are Copeland Industrial Corp.; Filipino Way Industries; Ilufa Mfg. Inc.; Integrated Multi-Cotton Mills Inc.; Kultura Knitex Corp.; Mannequin Int'l. Corp.; Nikko Textile Mills Inc.; Nippon East Knitting Corp.; and Texasia Inc.

Most of these companies, according to the DOF, do not exist and have used unauthenticated documents to apply for tax credit certificates.

The scam reportedly engineered by Chingkoe resulted in the 'financial hemorrhage' of billions of pesos in lost government revenues for the Philippines, which is one of the poorer Southeast Asian nations.

It also involved allegations of collusion by government officials who tried to protect the key players in the tax credit scam by filing a flawed prosecution case.

The Filipino government has since tightened the system of granting tax incentives by centralizing the issuance of the tax credit certificates in the offices of the internal revenue and customs commissioners.

It could not be determined if the Chingkoes are in the country legally and if they have applied for residential status.

Meanwhile, a federal court judge has reserved decision in the case of a Chinese fugitive appealing Canada's refusal to grant him refugee status.

China accuses Lai Changxing and his wife Tsang Mingna of masterminding a multi-billion dollar smuggling and corruption ring, allegedly the largest illegal operation in China's history.

But Lai's lawyer David Matas says Chinese authorities manufactured much of the evidence against his client for political reasons.

He also claims Lai did not get a fair hearing from the immigration panel that denied his refugee claim.

But immigration lawyers say the board has made a reasonable finding based on the evidence. The federal court has reserved its ruling until September. Lai and his family live in Burnaby under court ordered restrictions that limits their movement.

China has vowed not to execute Lai.