GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 26 Nov) – Twenty alleged victims of pyramiding investment company Aman Futures Group Philippines, Inc.
in South Cotabato province have formally filed separate complaints before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Region 12 against the firm’s leaders and agents in the area.
Lawyer Angelito Magno, NBI Region 12 director, said Monday the complainants were among the estimated 400 residents in several municipalities in South Cotabato that were supposedly duped by the Aman Group through its Ponzi-type investment scheme.
He said the victims executed complaint-affidavits detailing the illegal investment operations of the Aman Group through its local agents, who were earlier identified by the NBI-12 as sisters Rhoda Lilio-Corpuz and Girlie Lilio-Paner of T’boli town.
Magno said most of the complainants are residents of T’boli while some come from nearby Norala town.
“These were just the initial victims who surfaced last week and signified to file charges against Aman and its local agents.
We’re expecting that more of them will come out and also file their complaint-affidavits within the next few days,” the official said.
He said they have assigned a team from the NBI regional office based in Koronadal City to meet with the other victims of the Aman Group in T’boli and assist them in filing their complaints.
Magno said they were just waiting for the “right number” of complaints to come up before filing them to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in Manila.
The official said all charges in connection with the case will be filed at the DOJ in Manila as directed earlier by Justice Secretary Leila Delima.
Delima had created a special panel that will handle the complaints and the filing of charges against leaders and agents of the company, which reportedly amassed around P12 billion in Ponzi-type investments from 15,000 people in several parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
Several top officials of the Aman Group led by its fugitive founder Manuel Amalilio, who has reportedly fled to Malaysia, are presently facing charges of syndicated estafa based on the initial complaints filed by some of their victims in Pagadian City.
In a raid last week on a house that served as Aman Group’s alleged branch in T’boli town, NBI operatives uncovered documents detailing around P888 million worth of investment transactions in the area that were facilitated by its agents Rhoda Lilio-Corpuz and Girlie Lilio-Paner.
Timmy Rejano, NBI-12 supervising agent, said the house was owned by Pastor Rolando Lilio of the United Alliance Church and father of the alleged Aman agents.
He said the search yielded “stunning” evidences that showed direct connections and transactions between the Lilio children and fugitive Aman Group founder Manuel Amalilio as well as bank records and related documents that detailed the firm’s operations in the area.
Magno said the results of their initial investigation showed that Aman Group has several other agents in the area but have already gone into hiding due to supposed threats on their lives.
“They’re reportedly willing to surface and cooperate with the ongoing investigation once they are assured of their safety and security, he said. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)
