A Ukrainian company facing criminal proceedings over alleged fraud and money laundering sent money to a banana chips manufacturer owned by Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio, Senator-Judge Risa Hontiveros disclosed during the impeachment trial on Friday, October 9.
Hontiveros said records submitted to the impeachment court identified the foreign firm as Arkmen LLC, whose registration number and registered address match those of a company involved in a Ukrainian criminal proceeding concerning alleged fraud and money laundering involving €1.225 million.
The senator raised the transaction while questioning Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Office of the Commissioner Chief of Staff Anne Loraine Garcia-Marquez about the bureau’s ability to examine companies receiving funds flagged in suspicious or covered transaction reports submitted to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
Her inquiry focused on foreign remittances received by CALE88 Foods Corp., a banana chips manufacturing company owned by Carpio and among the businesses declared by Duterte in her sworn Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN).
“I asked this because my office also reviewed other foreign-based companies that sent money to Cale88, aside from those based in China. And it appears that at least one of them is possibly involved in money laundering activities,” Hontiveros said as the trial resumed for its 37th day.
According to records presented to the impeachment court, Arkmen LLC, registered under number 41423974 and listed at Zoriana 30A, Tsybuliv, Ukraine, was among the foreign companies that remitted funds to CALE88.
Hontiveros said the company’s registration details and address correspond to those of a firm involved in criminal proceedings initiated on May 19, 2025, over alleged fraud and money laundering involving €1.225 million.
She also cited court actions taken against the Ukrainian firm. The Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv ordered a search of its premises in March 2026, followed by an April 2026 order freezing a suspect’s 100% shareholding in the company.
The last recorded remittance from Arkmen LLC to CALE88 was on May 30, 2025, Hontiveros said, noting that the transaction occurred after the criminal proceedings had begun.
The disclosure follows earlier testimony from an AMLC official that CALE88 received ₱319.3 million in remittances from China and Hong Kong, some originating from Chinese state-owned firms.
Hontiveros also sought clarification on whether international remittances representing legitimate sales should have been declared as income and subjected to taxation.
“If we say there are indeed legitimate transactions behind these international remittances between Arkmen LLC and Cale88, would it be correct to say that these should have been reported as sales by Cale88 and subjected to tax?” she asked Garcia-Marquez.
The BIR official replied that if the transactions were indeed sales, they should have been reported in CALE88’s annual income tax return.
Garcia-Marquez said the BIR coordinates with the AMLC to deter taxpayer violations involving anti-money laundering policies. However, she clarified that bank accounts are not among the documents that may be examined under the BIR’s Letters of Authority because of existing bank secrecy laws.
The disclosure did not, by itself, establish that CALE88 or Carpio was involved in the alleged offenses in Ukraine.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, contributes to Negros Daily Bulletin, and maintains a blog on Medium.