Janet Lim-Napoles Filipino businesswoman Date of Birth: 15.01.1964 Country: Philippines

1. Biography of Janet Lim-Napoles
2. Early Life
3. Marriage and Early Ventures
4. Legal Troubles and Allegations
5. Family and Wealth

Biography of Janet Lim-Napoles

Janet Lim-Napoles, a Filipino businesswoman, is known as the mastermind behind a major corruption scandal involving high-ranking government officials, including senators. This fraudulent scheme involved the embezzlement of vast sums of state funds intended for the assistance of the poor. It is estimated that the passion for ill-gotten wealth of our protagonist cost the Philippine government around 10 billion pesos, equivalent to over 200 million US dollars.

Early Life

Janet Lim-Napoles was born on January 15, 1964, in Malabon, Philippines. She was the fourth child and only daughter of a Filipino-Chinese couple, Johnny Co Lim and Magdalena Lim Luy. When Janet was six years old, her father passed away. After becoming a widow, Magdalena decided to return with her children to their hometown in Maluso, Basilan province, where she managed a small store and sold beverages to workers in the local port. Some residents of Maluso claimed that Magdalena's family was well-off as they owned land and had their own fish processing business. However, when the criminal situation in Maluso worsened, Magdalena moved back to Manila with her children.

Marriage and Early Ventures

It is said that Janet met her future husband, Jaime G. Napoles, aboard a ship traveling between the southern islands of Mindanao. They got married on April 2, 1982, when Janet was 18 years old. Initially, the young couple lived in Manila, but later they relocated to Fort Bonifacio, where Jaime managed a small snack bar. Janet's business acumen became apparent in the early 90s when she sought investors for a shipyard construction project in Cebu. She promised them a 5% profit, but it was later discovered that the funds meant for the shipyard were diverted elsewhere. Nevertheless, all the investments were eventually repaid.

Legal Troubles and Allegations

In 2001, Janet and her husband were involved in a scandal related to the purchase of Kevlar helmets for the Philippine armed forces, amounting to 3.8 million pesos. They were accused of bribery and misuse of public funds. While Jaime was removed from the list of accused individuals in 2002, Janet stood trial and was acquitted in 2010 due to lack of evidence. In 2013, it was revealed that the JLN Corporation, which is believed to be owned by Janet, paid less taxes to the government compared to schoolteachers' modest salaries. Many believe that Janet Lim-Napoles was the creator and organizer of a scheme to misappropriate state funds through the Priority Development Assistance Fund, involving high-ranking government officials. As a result, the Philippine budget suffered losses of at least 10 billion pesos. Some of the accused senators and congressmen managed to leave the country, while others agreed to return in exchange for testifying against their former colleagues in the scandal. Janet was arrested in the summer of 2013 and in March 2014, she was allowed to undergo surgery to remove a uterine cyst at Makati Hospital. In April, she had to undergo a series of tests and analyses, including X-rays and biopsies, as influential and wealthy criminals in the Philippines often use such tactics to buy time.

Family and Wealth

Janet's husband, Jaime Napoles, was a major in the Philippine Marine Corps and participated in one of the attempted coups against President Corazon Aquino. He started as a reservist, later became an active-duty officer, and retired in December 2004. They have four adult children, with their youngest daughter, Jeane Napoles, occasionally attracting media attention for her lavish lifestyle. There are conflicting rumors about the wealth of the Napoles family. Janet recently claimed that her family belonged to the middle class, although there have been reports of her mother's family having old money. In any case, the Napoles family currently owns at least 28 real estate properties in various cities in the Philippines, properties in the United States, around 415 bank accounts in 17 different banks, and a fleet of 30 ships.