Ken Chan breaks silence on syndicated estafa complaint

Ken Chan has spoken up about the syndicated estafa case he's facing, stressing that he's not running away from it.

In a statement posted on his Instagram page on Thursday, Nov. 14, the actor said he did not fool anyone and that his business, which had three branches, just did not flourish.

"Personal kong babasagin ang aking katahimikan sa kumakalat na version ng kaso na isinampa laban sa akin dahil sa pagkalugi ng itinayo naming negosyo na Cafe Claus na nagkaroon ng tatlong branches at nagsara. Hindi po ako nanloko ng tao, naitayo po ang negosyo ngunit hindi ito nagtagumpay," he began.

"Hindi po dahil ito ang amount na isinampa laban sa akin ay ito na ang buong katotohan," he stressed.

Ken said he'll be releasing more details about the matter soon, including the truth about why his business failed.

"Hindi po ako nanghingi lang ng pera at nanloko tulad ng akusasyon sa akin," he reiterated.

The GMA-7 star said he only chose to keep mum about the issue for a while as he wanted to settle things legally along with the people who are supporting him in this fight. "Naniniwala ako na sa awa ng Panginoon ay mairaraos ko po ito," he said.

Ken added that he's here to face the complaint head-on. "Lumalaban po ako at hindi tumatakbo palayo sa isinampang kaso sa akin," he said. "Mahigit isang dekada kong pinaghirapan ang aking career at hindi dahil sa akusasyon ng iilan ang magtatapos ng napakagandang future na inilaan para sa akin ng Panginoon."

Philippine National Police authorities attempted to apprehend Ken at his Quezon City residence on Nov. 8, but he was not found at the premises.

One of the complainant’s lawyers, Atty. Joseph Noel Estrada, said in a brief interview with reporters that Ken was involved in an "investment scam" that became the basis of the charges. "Nakitaan ng piskalya na maiakyat po sa korte, makasuhan ng syndicated estafa si Ken Chan kasama 'yung co-accused," Estrada said.

Syndicated estafa is defined as swindling "committed by a syndicate consisting of five or more persons formed with the intention of carrying out the unlawful or illegal act, transaction, enterprise or scheme, and the defraudation results in the misappropriation of money contributed by stockholders." Violators may be penalized with life imprisonment.

Estrada alleged that Ken asked for P14 million from his clients to invest in a restaurant business and promised them 10% interest from the earnings every month. However, the business had shut down and the local star suddenly disappeared on his clients, which led to the charges against him and seven others.

Estrada said this is the second time authorities have attempted to serve him the warrant of arrest after failing to locate him in September this year.