Complaints against investment scammers received by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2017 to 2021 reached 493, amid concerns the numbers keep rising even during the pandemic.
The Senate Committee on Banks and Financial Institutions learned from SEC Commissioner Ephyro Luis Amatong at a hearing on Monday that the most prominent investment scam case they handled was that of the Kapa Community Ministry in 2018, where millions of victims allegedly lost a whopping total of P50 billion.
The scam happened even though regulators have been exposing and warning against investments scams in previous years.
As an example, Amatong cited the P100-billion Multinational Telecom investment scam involving Rosario Baladjay in the 1980s; the P30-billion Legacy Group scam of Celso de los Angeles in 2009; and the P12-billion Amman Futures trading scam of Manuel Amarillo in 2012.
Also cited was the P12-billion Performance Investments Productions Corporation scam involving Micheal Liew in 2017 and the P8-billion scam of Rigen Marketing of King Paul Bryan in 2019.
According to Amatong, scammers cashed in on the economic growth and robust business, and the steady increase in individual savings of Filipinos.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the SEC was compelled to issue 241 advisories to potential investors as it noted a perceptible rise in new scams.
The regulator also issued 20 cease and desist orders and at 40 orders cancelling the certificates…
