A casino tycoon and one of the richest persons in the Philippines is facing allegations of market manipulation and insider trading.
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Manuel Villar and Villar Land, previously known as Golden MV Holdings, for making false or misleading statements and committing acts that allegedly defrauded investors.
The SEC said the charges are connected to the appraisal of the land within Villar Land’s 3, 500, hectare Villar City project in Manila, a mixed, use estate that also has plans for two casino facilities.
In 2024, Villar Land reported an unaudited total asset value of P1.33trn (16.1bn) after revaluing the land that was bought for P5.2bn (64.5m), a staggering increase of almost 25, 000 percent, while net income jumped to P999.7bn (12.4bn) from P1.46bn (18.1m) a year earlier.
Nonetheless, after an audit, Villar Land’s total assets amounted to only P35.7bn (443m), a considerable decrease from the previously disclosed numbers.
Besides Villar, who is the company chairman and a former senator in the Philippines, the legal action also includes former Senator Cynthia Villar, Directors Cynthia Javarez, Manuel Paolo Villar, Camille Villar, and Mark Villar, as well as Independent Directors Ana Marie Pagsibigan and Garth Castaeda.
Cynthia Villar is also being accused of insider trading after she purchased 73, 600 shares of Villar Land in December 2017, just a few days before the company disclosure which later caused the stock price to increase.
Infra Holdings Corp, a company owned by Manuel Villars brother Virgilio, has been similarly named by the SEC. It is alleged that Infra, together with MGS Construction, conducted trading operations to create artificial demand and support the price of Villar Land shares.
Shares of Villar Land skyrocketed after the announcement of the land acquisition, momentarily making the company the most valuable in the Philippines at a peak of P1.5trn. However, the stock has plummeted massively, declining over 70 percent in the last year, since the SEC started its probe.
According to Forbes, Manuel Villars personal net worth has decreased by around $1 billion after the SECs complaint.
the SEC’s Chairperson, Francis Lim. said:
Building investor confidence in the Philippines is crucial in driving the inclusive and sustainable growth of our capital market and business sector for national development. In this light, the SEC is firm in addressing fraudulent and manipulative acts that mislead the investing public and distort our capital markets.
