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Thursday, March 13, 2003
Woman in investment scam nabbed in Mangaldan
By Liway Manantan-Yparraguirre
MANGALDAN -- Police arrested at a barangay in this Pangasinan town Tuesday a woman alleged to have masterminded a major investment scam in the country, reports said.
Arrested in Barangay Buenlag was Ma. Rosario Baladjay, who allegedly swindled hundreds of people into investing some P125 million into her firm, Multinational Telecom Investors Corp. (Multitel).
Baladjay's so-called Multitel scam grabbed national attention because of the large amounts of money involved and allegations that powerful lawmen were supposedly protecting her from arrest.
In Manila, Senator Robert Jaworski Sr. said Wednesday the Anti-money Laundering Council froze some of the bank accounts and assets of at least four big pyramiding firms in the country.
Baladjay, whose Multitel firm is into pyramiding, went into hiding shortly after the alleged scam was uncovered.
She was earlier charged with contempt for not appearing in an investigation into pyramiding firms conducted by the Senate committee on trade and commerce headed by Jaworski.
Some Multitel investors said they were lured into investing from the guaranteed return of investments promised in exchange for their recruiting more people into the firm.
Warrant of arrest
Pangasinan Provincial Police Office director Senior Supt. Arturo Cacdac Jr. said the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group earlier sought their help in looking for Baladiay.
"The CIDG made the request, so when somebody tipped us off concerning her whereabouts, we effected her arrest," Cacdac said.
Baladjay, 36, is the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Noli C. Diaz of the Municipal Trial Court in Muntinlupa. She was charged for violation of the bouncing check law with bail set at P30,000.
She was reportedly renting a big house in Mangaldan prior to her arrest.
After verifying that it was indeed Baladjay who was residing in the house, Cacdac ordered intelligence operatives led by Supt. Rayland Malenab to coordinate with the Mangaldan police in arresting the Multitel official.
Cacdac said they already turned Baladjay over to the national police headquarters in Camp Crame in accordance with the directive of PNP Chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and Police Regional Office 1 director Chief Supt. Arturo Lomibao.
Baladjay's capture, according to Cacdac, was the fruit of a well-organized investigation work.
Frozen accounts
At the Senate, Jaworski said several accounts of big pyramiding firms have indeed been frozen.
He said he could not reveal anything about the frozen accounts and assets, noting that the law provides that the actual details of the freezing orders be made secret.
The freezing of the accounts and assets by the AMLC occurred over a month ago or about the same time his committee conducted the investigation on the proliferation of pyramiding firms in the country, Jaworski added.
Only after court orders are acquired for the opening of the accounts can they be made public. Senate sources, however, said the frozen accounts worth some P25 billion belonged to Multitel, Mateo Management Group, Tibayan, and the Ma. Teresa Santos Trading (MTST).
Jaworski believed Baladjay should be detained at the Senate until Friday morning when she would answer questions from a Senate panel.
"She has been cited for contempt on non-appearance so we ordered the arrest. She will be under the office of the sergeant-at-arms and I believe that since we don't have any schedule up to Friday, then she will be staying here up to that time," Jaworski said.
Jaworski advised the other persons his committee summoned to a hearing to voluntarily surrender and not let the long arms of the law catch up with them. Sunnex Luzon/Sun.Star Pangasinan |
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