One of the lawyers who handles the ongoing case of Kris Aquino against her former project manager Nicko Falcis made some revelations regarding the money, which she claimed, had been mishandled by Falcis.
In an exclusive interview with Inquirer Lifestyle, Eloi Sy confirmed that Aquino is the rightful owner of a P40 million investment with Thai partners.
Sy said that the money was invested by Falcis in Rocks PC Co., Ltd. (Potato Corner Thailand).
The Thai partners of the said investment, which include actor Pachara “Peach” Chirathivat, reaffirmed Aquino though a text message last October that she is the “beneficial owner” of the P40 million investment which was under Falcis’ name.
Falcis was Aquino’s trustee, and because of that, he has no legal claim to the amount in question, Sy said.
After they had a meeting with Falcis, the Thai business partners also “agreed and established” that Aquino is the rightful owner of the “P40 million plus the shares in Mang Inasal” and the 10 percent Falcis assigned in Potato Corner Thailand.
Aquino’s Thai business partners were claimed to have said: “While the shares are in Nicko’s name as your trustee to protect your privacy, it is in our corporate records that you are indeed the beneficial owner of the said shares. You still have the right to vote and also the right to dividends that may arise in your 10 percent in Rocks PC Co. Ltd.”
While Aquino filed qualified theft charges against Falcis after he spent P1.2 million worth of money from her production company for personal needs, Sy said that the P40 million investment is a different case.
“The P40 million was unaccounted for, and we’re trying to account for all the money our client entrusted to Nicko Falcis,” Sy was quoted as saying.
“We had a meeting with Nicko’s sister and his lawyer in September, with the understanding that we were to have another meeting where they would give us the full financial report. They didn’t talk to us again. Instead, they’ve been maligning our client,” he added.
“When Ms Aquino gave Nicko that amount to invest, there was no contract, she didn’t make him sign for it. It was only because she trusted him. This is so crucial for Ms. Aquino because the money came from her sons’ trust fund,” Sy said.
Meanwhile, Aquino earlier posted on Instagram: “I asked for an accounting of [the] P40M invested for my sons, and financial reports for our 12 Potato Corner + Nacho Bimby branches and my lawyers and I were ignored.”
Previous reports said that what Falcis allegedly did mostly affected Aquino’s non-showbiz related business ventures, namely 14 branches of Nacho Bimby + Potato Corner and Thai beauty brand Snail White.
Aquino previously said all of this was caused by Falcis’ “careless disregard for [her] existing endorsement contracts, [and] total lack of respect”.
