Garcia: Comelec to seek US DOJ help on fake offshore accounts

ELECTIONS chairman George Garcia yesterday said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will seek the assistance of the Department of Justice (DOJ) of the United States government in finding out who are the parties involved in the offshore bank accounts that he allegedly owns as exposed by Sagip party-list Rep. Dante Marcoleta.

In an online interview with reporters, Garcia said he believes the US DOJ will be more than willing to lend a hand in probing possible cases of identity theft and bank fraud.

“In cases of identity theft and bank fraud, the United States is very sensitive of such cases.

They will really run after those (who) will violate their laws,” said Garcia.

“The US government itself, I believe, will really take action if such violations are committed.

We are asking for their help on this aspect,” he said.

In particular, he said they will ask the US DOJ to check who is behind the firm Jaleo Consulting LLC, which deposited $100 to offshore accounts in Cayman Islands supposedly owned by Garcia.

In a presentation last week, Marcoleta claimed that “volunteers” made fund transfers to two offshore accounts with the beneficiary name “George Erwin Mojica Garcia.”

“We want to know who are the real owners of these bank accounts they are mentioning. It could be a newly opened account or has been there under a different name,” Garcia said.

“We need to know the root cause of all these (accusations) as its repercussions have gone deeper and wider,” he also said.

Garcia said the poll body will also seek the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) in formally seeking the help of the US DOJ.

“We will also have a letter to the DFA for them to make a formal request to the US DOJ for a legal assistance based on the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty,” he said, adding the Comelec has already communicated with the US DOJ for the holding of exploratory talks.

“We will have an indirect request to the US DOJ to have exploratory actions even prior the formal request from the DFA,” he said.

Over the weekend, former Biliran Rep. Glenn Chong tagged the Smartmatic International as the supposed group behind the black propaganda directed at Garcia.