MANILA, Philippines — The legal dispute between actress and television host Kim Chiu and her older sister, Lakambini “Lakam” Chiu, has escalated after the Quezon City City Prosecutor’s Office found grounds to charge Lakam with 124 counts of qualified theft involving alleged corporate fund withdrawals totaling P44.396 million.
The development stems from a complaint Kim filed over alleged financial irregularities involving House of Little Bunny (HOLB) Philippines Inc., the business the sisters established together. A resolution dated September 1 reportedly found that the evidence presented supported the elements of qualified theft.
Importantly, the prosecutor’s finding is not a final conviction. Lakam has denied the allegations and presented her own explanation of the disputed transactions.
Prosecutors cite 124 alleged withdrawals
According to the prosecutor’s resolution reported by The Philippine Star, the 124 counts correspond to separate occasions on which allegedly unauthorized withdrawals or transfers were made from the company’s accounts.
The total amount identified in the resolution was P44,396,331.65.
Prosecutors reportedly concluded that Lakam had access to the company’s joint corporate bank accounts because of her role in HOLB Philippines and that she had a duty to use corporate funds for legitimate company expenses.
The resolution reportedly stated that the evidence showed the funds were allegedly diverted for purposes unrelated to the company.
How the dispute began
Kim said she became concerned after discovering what she described as unusually large transactions from HOLB Philippines’ accounts.
According to her statement to prosecutors, she had established the Philippine business after becoming the exclusive dealer of Thailand-based HOLB products in the Philippines. Kim served as the company’s president and majority stockholder, while Lakam was involved in the company’s management.
The sisters maintained joint corporate accounts for business transactions.
Kim said she later discovered substantial withdrawals and transfers that she did not recognize as legitimate company expenses. She subsequently sought an audit and legal review of the company’s financial records.
Why the case involves more than P44 million in allegations
One of the most important distinctions in the case is that different figures have emerged during the investigation.
Kim’s lawyers reportedly identified as much as P69 million in unauthorized withdrawals and transfers between October 2022 and July 2025.
A subsequent independent audit reportedly identified P36.65 million in missing, unaccounted-for or potentially misappropriated funds, compared with approximately P5.5 million in legitimate expenses for 2025.
However, the prosecutor’s September resolution specifically cited P44.396 million in alleged unlawful appropriation underlying the 124 qualified-theft counts.
Those figures should therefore not be treated as interchangeable: they represent different findings or stages of the financial review.
Lakam denies qualified theft allegations
Lakam has strongly disputed her sister’s accusations.
In her response to prosecutors, she denied that she had the responsibilities Kim attributed to her, saying she was the company’s corporate secretary rather than its treasurer and general manager.
She also argued that the bank accounts were joint accounts and that the sisters had agreed they could be used for other business ventures. On that basis, she disputed the characterization of her transactions as unauthorized.
Lakam further challenged the completeness and accuracy of the audit, arguing that not all relevant records and documents had been reviewed.
She also acknowledged involvement in a business venture that failed to recover the money invested, but denied that the disputed funds were simply used for personal gambling.
Accountant’s case dropped
The controversy also drew in Kim’s personal accountant, Helena Tayag, who denied being involved in any alleged scheme.
Tayag said she was Kim’s personal accountant rather than HOLB Philippines’ corporate accountant or employee. She maintained that she had no authority over the company’s bank accounts and did not control its financial operations.
The Quezon City prosecutor’s office subsequently dismissed the qualified-theft complaint against Tayag for lack of evidence, according to the report.
A family dispute now headed deeper into the legal process
The case has transformed what began as a business disagreement between two sisters into a significant legal battle.
For Kim, the complaint followed what she described as serious financial discrepancies and an effort to determine where company funds had gone.
For Lakam, the allegations are disputed, with her defense centered partly on the sisters’ joint ownership and the nature of their agreements concerning the business accounts.
The prosecutor’s finding means the allegations against Lakam will proceed through the appropriate legal process, but it does not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The next stages of the case will determine how prosecutors and the courts ultimately evaluate the competing accounts, financial records and other evidence.
For now, the headline number is striking: 124 qualified-theft counts involving P44.396 million according to the prosecutor’s resolution.
But behind that figure is a much more complicated dispute involving family, business ownership, corporate authority and years of contested financial transactions.
And as the case moves forward, the biggest question is no longer simply how much money is in dispute — but whether the evidence will ultimately support the allegations in court.
Leave a Reply