SEC files criminal charge against Multitel owners

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed before the Makati Prosecutors Office yesterday a criminal complaint against the owners and certain officers of Multinational Telecom Investors Corp. and Multitel International Holdings Inc. led by Rosario and Saturnino Baladjay.

The Makati Prosecutors Office will conduct a preliminary investigation into the case to determine whether the charges levelled by the SEC against the officers of the Multitel Group have basis.

The SEC filed the complaint to ensure the criminal prosecution of erring individuals and to send a strong signal to the public that the corporate watchdog agency will clamp down on any fraudulent activity.

The Multitel Group’s modus operandi is to offer high interest rates of as much as 15 percent a month for a six-month placement of P100,000. The company was issued a cease-and desist order by the SEC for unauthorized sale of securities in violation of the Securities Regulation Code.

Thousands of investors of Multitel are now in a daze as to when they would get their money and other promised payments back. The Baladjays are now nowhere to be found and have just been communicating to investors through letters or advisories. If convicted, Baladjay faces seven to 21 years imprisonment.

The case filed by the SEC is separate from the individual estafa cases that hundreds of investors plan to file against Baladjay.

The SEC is encouraging other aggrieved investors of Multitel to come out in the open and file complaints with the Commission to build an airtight case against the Baladjays.

Among those who have been victimized by Multitel are government retirees and employees, and physicians from St. Lukes Hospital, Mary Chiles Hospital and the Manila Sanitarium.

Tomas Syquia, head of the SEC’s Compliance and Enforcement Department, said Multitel, through conduit entities, continued to solicit investments from the public in defiance of the CDO.

According to the SEC, word of mouth and the payment of instant cash attracted investors to part with their hard-earned money.

The SEC has expressed doubts whether investors of Multitel can still recover their investments from the company due to the repeated failure by management to pay back investors’ claims and the fact that the firm’s owners can no longer be located.