The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered the arrest of at least four executives of German biometrics company Dermalog, the service provider of driver’s license system of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), for qualified theft involving P797,505,023.
Due to the enormity of the amount, the prosecutor recommended no bail for the temporarily release of the respondents from detention.
RTC Judge Zita Marie Magundayao Atienza-Fajardo directed the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to arrest Gunther Mill, Randolf Sitz, Michael Schutt and Lynne Ocampo with address at the Calleja Law Office, No. 904-C West Tower, PSE Center, Ortigas Center, Pasig City.
Citing a Supreme Court order, the Quezon City judge required the arresting authorities “to use at least one body-worn camera and one alternative recording device, or a minimum of two devices, or such number as may be necessary to capture and record the relevant incidents in the execution of this warrant.”
On May 30, Quezon City Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano issued a resolution, indicting Mull, Sitz, Schutt and Ocampo for the crime of qualified theft and submitted it to the RTC, “with no recommended bail.”
The prosecutor junked the estafa case against the four accused for lack of probable cause.
In 2021, the Verzontal Builders Inc., Dermalog’s local partner and a licensed contractor, filed the estafa suit before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.
In 2018, Verzontal entered into a joint venture with Dermalog, Holy Family Planning Corp. and Microgenesis Software Inc. to qualify and participate as an unincorporated joint venture for the public bidding of the Department of Transportation’s road transportation information technology infrastructure project with the LTO.
Under the agreement, Verzontal contributed to the net financial contracting capacity of the joint venture agreement to undertake the civil, mechanical, and electrical works, and even lent to the consortium its office space and resources for the preparation of bid submissions of the LTO project.
Under the arrangement, Verzontal would hold 25 percent ownership interest in the joint venture.
On May 17, 2018, LTO awarded the project to Dermalog without the knowledge of Verzontal, which claimed Dermalog failed to settle the 25 percent share despite repeated written demands.
“In the case under consideration, the joint venture agreement vividly indicates the ownership interest of the complainant to 25 percent. It is not disputed that respondent Dermalog Identification Systems, GmBH, being the P3,190,020,094.08 from the LTO as full payment of the project. It follows then that respondent Dermalog Identification Systems, GmBH must have distributed the share of the complainant in the amount of P797,505,023.52, which represents the 25 percent of the project,” the prosecutor’s 14-page resolution stated.