The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a criminal complaint against Villar Land Holdings Corp, its chairman Manuel Villar Jr and several directors for market manipulation, insider trading and misleading disclosures.
The charges are believed to relate to the valuation of land that forms part of a planned mixed-use estate in southern Manila whose facilities are planned to include two casinos.
The SEC issued a statement over the weekend in which it accused Villar Land of violating the Securities Regulation Code by “making false or misleading statements and engaging in acts that operated as fraud or deceit upon investors”.
Villar Land told local media that the company and its directors plan to “answer all the allegations leveled against them after formal receipt of the alleged complaint”. However, it added in a Monday filing that it had still not received a copy of the complaint and was therefore “not aware of any other details on the matter except for what has been disclosed by the SEC in its press statement”.
It added that, “The company and its directors are entitled to due process and look forward to receiving a copy of the complaint and responding to the allegations raised by the SEC in the proper form.”
IAG first reported on the land valuation issue in November after Manuel Villar saw more than US$18 billion of his personal wealth wiped out following a collapse in Villa Land’s share price. The collapse, which also resulted in Bloomberry Resorts Corp’s Enrique K Razon Jr claiming top spot as the Philippines’ richest man, was sparked by a dispute over the value of the land in question, purchased last year for Php5.2 billion (US$88.1 million) from three companies privately owned by the tycoon and subsequently revalued at over Php1.3 trillion (US$22.0 billion) – an extraordinary increase of almost 25,000%.
Trading in Villar Land shares were suspended after the company’s external auditor refused to recognize this valuation, resulting in the delayed submission of its audited 2024 Annual Report. Villar Land – previously known as Golden MV Holdings, Inc – ultimately agreed to a new land valuation of Php8.7 billion (US$148 million) which saw net profit for the year revised from its original Php999 billion (US$16.9 billion) to just Php1.4 billion (US$23.7 million).
Manuel Villar had previously outlined plans to renew focus on the development of his ambitious 3,500-hectare mixed-use estate, Villar City, in the south of Metro Manila after briefly stepping away to support his daughter’s political campaign.
Villar City is described as an “expansive megalopolis” connecting 15 towns and cities across Metro Manila and Cavite. Once fully built out, it is planned to comprise a central business district, tech valley, university town, hospital, golf courses and various leisure and recreational facilities, including two casinos.
As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the casino projects alone are expected to cost around US$1 billion with the first to be built on the 18,000 square-meter shopping complex Vista Mall Global South. The casino had been envisioned to target international high-rollers as well as local players although a previous partnership with Dowinn Group to operate the facility collapsed following the junket’s 2024 financial woes.
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