JUSTICE Sec. Leila De Lima on Wednesday said the government is looking into the possibility of tracing extra money deposits in the bank accounts of officers of the Aman Futures Group Phils.

De Lima believes there could be more money belonging to these individuals, adding that there is an ongoing examination on the cash deposits of Aman, the firm which allegedly manipulated and swindled the public through their fraudulent investment scheme.

The amount involved in the scam is worth P12 billion in lost investments.

The Court of Appeals (CA) had frozen the bank assets of Aman executives facing charges for syndicated estafa worth P200 million owing to the petition filed by the Anti-money Laundering Council (AMLC).

The effectivity of the original freeze order was only 20 days, but the appeals court extended it for six months.

Covered by the freeze order are the bank accounts in Metrobank Card Corp., Metrobank and Trust Company, One Network Bank, Inc., Orix Metro Leasing and Finance Co., Philippine Bank of Communication, Philippine Savings Bank, RCBC Savings Bank, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., Security Bank Corp., Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank of the Phils. And United Coconut Planters Bank, Philippine National Bank, BPI Philam Life Assurance Corp., Allied Banking Corp., Banco De Oro Unibank, Inc., Bank of Commerce, Bank of the Philippine Islands, BPI Family Savings Bank, China Banking Corp., Citibank N.A., Development Bank of the Philippines, East West Banking Corp., Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp., Land Bank of the Philippines, and Mabank Phils., Inc.

Meanwhile, De Lima defended the National Bureau of Investigation against criticisms by lawmakers saying that one of the justice department’s attached agencies had acted fast enough to expedite the filing of the cases.