`Innocent` Manny Pacquiao `harassed` over court’s move to freeze bank accounts

London – Filipino boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao has reportedly branded the move of a Philippines court to freeze his bank accounts as ‘harassment’ and insisted that he is neither a criminal nor a thief.

The world champion, who is one of the richest people in the island nation, had his and his wife’s bank accounts frozen over claims that he owes millions of dollars in unpaid tax, although Pacquiao said that he has fulfilled all his tax obligations.

According to the BBC, the case comes just days after Pacquiao won a world welterweight title in a comeback fight in Macau, adding that he dedicated his win to the victims of the devastating typhoon Haiyan, which claimed more than 5,200 lives.

The Philippine Bureau of Internal Revenue said that Pacquiao has not proved that he paid the right level of taxes in 2008 and 2009, although the boxer insisted that he paid taxes in the US during that period, which includes his lucrative victories against Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya.

Stating that a treaty between US and the Philippines prevented the requirement for double taxation, Pacquiao also said that the freeze had forced him to borrow money to fulfill a pledge to help the victims of the typhoon, adding that he is neither a criminal nor a thief.