By Nancy Carvajal
Entrepreneur Bernard “Bren” Chong, whose family owns the sports shoes and apparel firm World Balance, has denied manufacturing fake receipts for major corporations after fraudulent business documents were found in his company’s office in 2022.
Chong denied any wrongdoing in a series of messages to Bilyonaryo as a Quezon City court affirmed the legality of the search warrant used by the National Bureau of Investigation to raid the office of Brenterprise International Inc. at a condominium unit in Libis, Quezon City.
“Bernard Chong and Brenterprise Inc. did not own or rent the unit that was raided,’’ the businessman told Bilyonaryo.
Chong claimed Brenterprise’s office is located in Malate, Manila, while his residential address is in Caloocan City. He insisted that his firm “was never engaged in the receipt business” despite the NBI’s discovery of fake receipts at his company’s office in Libis.
In its raid of Brenterprise’s condominium unit last December, NBI agents also found booklets of fabricated business documents that were allegedly used by companies to lower the amount of taxes paid to the government.
Over a thousand companies in the country reportedly tapped Brenterprise’s services to produce official receipts.
A Babbler told Bilyonaryo that Brenterprise’s motion to quash the search warrant had been denied by a Quezon City court.
“We raided the correct address and found more than enough evidence, both digital and in print,’’ said the Babbler.
Based on the NBI’s investigation, Brenterprise was discovered to have been producing fake receipts for 15 years.
Chong is also subject of a warrant of arrest issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court over his alleged involvement in the botched smuggling of P1.87 billion worth of shabu at the Manila International Container Port in 2019.
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