Aman Futures Group (simply referred as Aman Futures) was an investment and

privately held company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

based in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

with branches in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It has also been allegedly engaged in a

pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a business model that recruits members via a promise of payments or services for enrolling others into the scheme, rather than supplying investments or sale of products. As recruiting multiplies, recruiting becomes quickly i ...

. The group was founded by Manuel K. Amalilio, a Filipino of Malaysian descent.

Controversy

Aman Futures was reported as a pyramid scheme in 2012 by the National Bureau of Investigation of the Philippines that duped some 15,000 people in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

and the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands ( Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...

of P12 billion (US$295,000,000 est.). Authorities from the Philippines have set a manhunt for Manuel K. Amalilio, the founder of the company who left the Philippines for

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

. The "double-your-money" was a phrase being pitched to join the network. NBI has said that there is about 8,000 complaints filed against the company and over 100,000

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

families were victimized. Irate victims of Aman Futures have ransacked an office rented by the company in

Pagadian City Pagadian, officially the City of Pagadian ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Pagadian; fil, Lungsod ng Pagadian; Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Pagadian'', Jawi: كوتا نو ڤاڬاديان; Iranun: ''Bandar a Pagadian'', بندر ا ڤاڬاديان; Chavacano ...

. After the manhunt for the brain behind the scam was launched, two of the company's employees surrendered. Maria Donna Coyme, who is reportedly the chief finance officer of Aman Futures; and Jacob Razuman, one of the firm's top brokers, are currently being investigated for their role in the scam said the National Bureau of Investigation and the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Currentl ...

. Twenty one Filipino police officers and two fire officers filed syndicated

estafa In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

complaint against the company. They said they were promised a return of their investment within eight days and a 50-80% profit for 17 to 20 days. The Malacañang Palace has assured that the victims of Aman Futures should not take matters of their own, as authorities are doing their work to put to jail those responsible for the pyramid scam that duped thousands in the Visayas and Mindanao area. Gunmen related to the 14 December 2012 gunshot in

Zamboanga City Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga (Chavacano and es, Ciudad de Zamboanga, Tausūg: ''Dāira sin Sambuangan'', fil, Lungsod ng Zamboanga, ceb, Dakbayan sa Zamboanga), is a city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philipp ...

were possible employees from Aman Futures. Investigators said it was possible that the attack may be linked to the Aman Futures that is known to have victimized thousands, including many policemen. In 2013, the founder of Aman Futures, Manuel K. Amalilio, was caught in

after pleading guilty to charges of holding false travel documents. He was then supposed to be deported to

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

on Friday, 25 January at estimated time of 19:45 PST to be jailed the NBI said. However, the Malaysian authorities stopped Amalilio's deportation and he was sentenced a two-year imprisonment in Malaysia. Some of the members of the Malaysian opposition in the Philippines disagreed in the Malaysian authorities' stopping of Amalilio's deportation during an interview at

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

. They also have questioned the jail sentence handed down to him in Malaysia. In 2014, Manuel was freed from Malaysian prison following a representation to the court by his family. The Malaysian Department of Foreign Affairs then declined the Philippines' request for extradition.

References

{{Multi-level marketing Defunct multi-level marketing companies Pyramid and Ponzi schemes 21st-century scandals Controversies in the Philippines 2012 scandals 2012 in the Philippines

Controversy

See also

References