Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd directed the police of Cebu City to scour the province and track down officials of the investment firm that has been reportedly victimized of about 10,000 low-income earning investors in Pagadian City and in some parts of Mindanao.

This after reports surfaced that President Manuel Amalilio of Aman Futures Group and the company’s board of directors could be hiding in Cebu. Roxas, citing the National Bureau of Investigation reports, said that Amalilio’s last known address is in Cebu City.

Roxas ordered Director Marcelo Garbo of Police Regional Office 7 and Supt. Louie Oppus, deputy director for Operations, to follow the NBI’s lead so that the government can immediately put Amalilio to justice.

He said that the victims were lured by Aman to invest in a “get-rich-quick” scheme, promising them a return of their original investment with a profit of 15 percent to 40 percent after a period of 20 to 30 days.

Aman Futures claimed that the profit would come from a customer agreement with Malaysian brokerage firm Okachi (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. that in turn engages in futures trading of commodities such as oil, manganese, palm oil and nickel.

In a press briefing, Roxas said that Amalilio’s residence has already been placed under surveillance.

He also ordered a manhunt for other persons involved in the scam—Cebuana Lilian Lim Ghan, Fernando Luna of Pagadian City, Edward Lim, Lurix Lopez and William Fuentes.

Roxas said that he is coordinating with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima for a hold departure order to be issued against Amalilio and others involved in the scam, anticipating that Amalilio, who is of Malaysian descent, could flee or could already be in hiding Malaysia.

Roxas said that about 80 percent of the victims were from Pagadian City, while others were from the provinces Marawi, Ozamis, Iligan and even Cebu City.

He said that Aman took the hard-earned money that retirees, teachers, police, farmers and even pastors. A total of P244 million was involved in the money scam, Roxas said.

Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist order against Aman Futures to stop offering unregistered securities, soliciting investments or pooling funds.

The SEC, in coordination with the PNP and NBI, is likewise readying criminal complaints against Aman and its officials.