MFT Group’s Mica Tan ready to come home, face charges

MANILA, Philippines — MFT Group of Companies CEO Maria Francesca Tan, who is being linked to a massive investment fraud, said she does not intend to evade the charges she is being accused of.

Tan, in an online meeting with creditors last week, said she is returning to the Philippines to clear her name and prove her innocence, even if it means she will be detained.

“I will return to the Philippines because I believe in my innocence and in my earnest desire to work in finding solutions and obtain a recommendation from the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) so that I may be allowed to be actively involved in efforts to pay creditors,” she said.

Tan cited three reasons as to why she has decided “to come home.”

First, face the cases directly so that the SEC case can move toward resolution. Second is for her to defend herself and clear her name, and third is to continue working for and with creditors.

“The number one priority is the SEC, and I am looking forward to full cooperation as we go through the legal process for the SEC case,” Tan said.

“Again, what makes it so difficult and painful are these syndicated estafa cases. That is why, when I return home, there is that uncomfortable chapter of detention, and I will go through that. I will go through that because it is an obstacle blocking us from making sure we go through the SEC case,” she added.

Tan, in previous online meetings, warned creditors of potential consequences if she were detained, saying that “no one gets paid if that happens.”

A red notice has already been issued by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) against Tan.

SEC chair Francis Lim earlier told The STAR that if MFT and Tan can show “the color of their money to be put in a bank escrow account and a payment plan,” then the commission could consider talking to them.

Lim said equally important to the SEC is payment to their investors.

It was the SEC that requested Interpol to issue a red notice in an effort to bring Tan before the Philippine courts over her alleged role in a large-scale fraudulent investment scheme.

A case buildup by the SEC led to a Department of Justice resolution in May last year, indicting MFT Group of Companies Inc., Foundry Ventures I Inc. and their respective officers for their unauthorized solicitation of investments from the public.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the SEC in April 2024, based on complaints received from investors of the MFT Group, which later transitioned to Foundry Ventures.

The commission has found that the MFT Group is enticing potential investors to participate in its investment scheme with the promise of a guaranteed return ranging from 12 to 18 percent of the amount invested.