Motorcycle-riding gunmen killed a local policeman in Zamboanga City in an attack believed to be linked to an investment scam hounding several provinces in Mindanao, officials reported on Sunday.

Officials identified the victim as SPO1 Raymond Dalida, who was assigned with the Police Security and Protection Group. Dalida was killed on Friday after gunmen chased him in a village called Lunzuran.

Witnesses told the police that the gunmen shouted at Dalida to return their money before he was killed.

Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, chief of the local police, said that the killing might be connected to the investment scam involving Aman Futures, which duped over P12 billion from their victims.

He said that the police are investigating whether Dalida acted as investment agent to Aman or if he had links with the firm’s Malaysian owner Manuel Amalilio, who fled to Sabah following the collapse of his company in Mindanao.

Several policemen were said to have protected Amalilio, serving as his bodyguards, before he escaped to Malaysia several months ago.

Aman Futures, which operated mostly in Mindanao, claimed to be a futures trading firm.

The firm claims to have been organized to buy, sell, distribute and market “palm oil, gold, coconut oil, manganese, nickel, ore and agricultural products.”

The firm solicited investments from the public, promising huge returns on their investment.