Scam brains’ wife still in Phl – NBI

MANILA, Philippines - The wife of Aman Futures Group Phils. president Manuel Amalilio, the Malaysian national who fled to Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia to escape prosecution, is still in the country, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said yesterday.

A source told the NBI that Abegail Concellado Pendulas is still in the country.

“The NBI is now monitoring her,” the source told The STAR in a phone interview but refused to give details.

As this developed, lawyer Minnie Retanal, investigator of the NBI Anti-Fraud Division (AFAD) urged the public not to fall prey to scams.

She said the public should first check the background of people who ask them to invest in a get-rich-quick investment projects.

Retanal said they found out that Aman investors were not given information by the firm as to where their money would be used.

The firm’s employees also refused the investors’ entry to the office since a lot of money was stacked up inside.

Cameras and cell phones were not allowed in the office.

Investors were not given any official receipt after they invested their money. Or if there was any, it was just a computer printout or a piece of paper where the amount was written.

Retanal said it is unfortunate that none of the investors they interviewed have asked the Aman employees where their money will be used.

“Normally, an investor would ask what kind of business he or she is investing, what product or services the company is rendering. And if such business could really give that kind of a big profit in so short a time,” she said.

Aman Futures had promised investors that profits would come in as early as eight days after they invest, earlier reports said.

As much as 30 to 40 percent profit, on top of the invested money, was also promised by the firm, according to earlier reports.

Retanal said the new scam was just an offshoot of previous scams.

Pursue the case

Meanwhile, Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Antonio Cerilles has urged the victims of Aman Futures to pursue criminal charges against the people behind the multibillion-peso pyramid scam.

“I have already initiated a criminal complaint at the NBI and I am urging all the victims to file their complaint,” he said.

Cerilles said included in the list of those who were victimized by the firm were provincial capitol employees who availed themselves of the multipurpose loan program of the city government to invest in the pyramid scam.

He said the employees borrowed money ranging from P5,000 to P10,000 at one percent interest hoping that their loan will be doubled in a month.

“The loan was supposed to help the provincial government employees in their financial needs but we have no control on how they spent the money,” he said