NBI mulls hold order on RMF execs

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) will seek a hold departure order against four officials of a firm linked to an alleged investment scam.

NBI Head Agent Ferdinand Lavin said they have confirmed that two officials of the  Royal Manchester Five Trading Corp. (RMF) have already left the country.

Company president Cyrus Yap Hao went to South Korea last March 2 while vice president for marketing Renato San Juan went to the United States last March 6.

He said their departure from the country was “timely” since there was a scheduled annual stockholder’s meeting every first Monday of March. For this year, their meeting would have fallen on March 3. The NBI has yet to verify if the meeting pushed through.

“They left very close to the date of the meeting. He (Hao) pre-empted everybody” and might have tried to avoid attending the meeting,” Lavin said.

He added that they will check if four other RMF officials have derogatory records that could warrant the issuance of a hold departure order.

The four RMF officials are Joesedev Collina, Edwin Rosas, Rowena Uy, and Joseph Bualoy.

“But if they have no derogatory record then we would ask the (Department of Justice) if they could be included in the monitoring or watchlist,” Lavin said.

NBI spokesman Allan Contado said several people have filed complaints of violation of the Securities Regulation Code, syndicated estafa and bouncing checks law against the company.

Based on the testimonies of some of the alleged victims, they were asked to initially invest between P50,000 to P100,000 and promised a monthly interest of five percent. A government employee, who requested anonymity, said some members complained that the checks issued to them bounced due to insufficient funds.

Meanwhile, lone Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago called on the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to conduct an investigation and “freeze” the bank accounts of the six RMF officials.

“To protect what is left of the money put in by the investing public, the AMLC should take purposeful pre-emptive action against the company and its officers and their bank accounts,” he said.

Santiago said investors were paid the monthly interest through post-dated checks issued to them by RMF, with offices at One San Miguel Condominium at the Ortigas business district in Pasig City. The checks, however, started bouncing in mid-February.

Thus far, investigators have determined that RMF maintained checking accounts in at least two financial institutions — Asia United Bank Corp. and Bank of Commerce. These accounts were used to pay the monthly interest to investors.

RMF supposedly used currency-trading operations in Europe to front for its alleged fraudulent activities.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring earlier urged the victims of RMF, including celebrities such as professional basketball players and actors, to come forward and file affidavits.  – Evelyn Macairan, Delon Porcalla