NBI files syndicated estafa case against investment firm execs

MANILA, Philippines - Eight officers and incorporators of investment company Royal Manchester Five Trading Corp. were charged with syndicated estafa for reportedly swindling investors of millions of pesos, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Saturday. In a transmittal before the Department of Justice (DoJ), the NBI identified Cyrus Hao, RMF Board Chairman and President; Edwin Rosas, Corporate Secretary and Senior Vice President; Rowena Uy, Director and Treasurer/Chief Finance Officer; Joseph Bualoy, Director and Chief Operations Officer; Joesedev Colina, Director and Executive Vice President; and RMF agents Cyril Alexander Digo and Estrella Digo. All suspects were listed to have their last known addresses at Unit 1503 15th Floor, One San Miguel Building, San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City. The same document also listed Uy’s provincial address in District 3, Barangay Sta. Rosa, Gamu Isabela. The agency’s anti-fraud and computer crimes division (AFCCD) filed charges against the suspects based on the complaints filed by 27 investors of the company’s investment scheme. Bureau reports indicate that in August 2002, the company, with the said suspects as officers, engaged in soliciting funds from the public. Investors were promised a monthly interest of three percent to five percent with a minimum investment of P100,000. The company claimed that the investments were placed in a high-end currency trading abroad, particularly in Hong Kong, USA and Europe. The suspects also assured participants that some of the funds were invested in futures trading. Since the company’s operations ran smoothly for years, it was able to entice other investors, most of whom were “recruited" by word of mouth. However, in March this year, investors were informed that Hao reportedly fled the country, together with the funds entrusted by investors. Not long after, investors began to receive rubber checks, forcing them to file their separate and joint complaints before several divisions of the bureau. - GMANews.TV