Branded shoe company World Balance is facing criminal charges for allegedly using ghost receipts to evade taxes amounting to ₱178.8 million, according to a joint announcement by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a statement released on Monday, BIR Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui Jr. thanked Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and the DOJ prosecution team for what he called a “swift and decisive” filing of 34 criminal cases against World Balance (CHG Global Inc.) and its officers.
“We are defending honest taxpayers and leveling the playing field against those who use ghost transactions to cheat the system,” Lumagui said.
The charges stem from findings under the BIR’s Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) program, which investigates companies using fake receipts from ghost companies to reduce tax obligations. The BIR said World Balance used such fraudulent documents to underreport income and evade taxes from 2018 to 2021.
On July 9, the DOJ filed 30 criminal informations before the Court of Tax Appeals, charging World Balance and its representatives for violations of Sections 254 and 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC). Four additional charges were also lodged before the Caloocan City Regional and Metropolitan Trial Courts, citing violations of Sections 254, 255, and 267.
Among those named in the cases are company officials Barnaby L. Chong, Bradley L. Chong, and Audrey Suzanne L. Chong, who now face both criminal liability and tax deficiencies totaling ₱178,838,936. The BIR cited violations including untruthful declarations and inaccurate information in the company’s annual income tax returns.
The RAFT program is part of the BIR’s intensified campaign to crack down on tax fraud, particularly schemes involving ghost receipts—falsified documents issued by nonexistent businesses to manipulate financial records.
The case against World Balance signals a heightened government focus on corporate tax compliance, with authorities vowing more prosecutions in the coming months.