Manuel Amalilio, the man behind Aman Futures Philippines Group, was arrested on January 22 in the Malaysian city of Kota Kinabalu for possessing a fake passport and ID, Inquirer.net reports.

Amalilio left the Philippines during the latter part of 2012 after his investment scam was found out in October. According to authorities, he had made off with a total of P12 billion from the estimated 15,000 people he duped across Mindanao and Visayas. He, along with nine others, was ordered arrested for the scam.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima says that Amalilio is currently detained in an immigration office in the city and that Philippine authorities are now working alongside the Malaysian police for his deportation back to the Philippines. Virgilio Mendez, deputy director for regional operations of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also said that Amalilio will be brought to the nearest court in the country as soon as he arrives in the country and will be subsequently detained in the NBI headquarters.

Other officers of Aman Futures have already been apprehended and are facing syndicated estafa charges in a Pagadian City court due to the numerous complaints filed against them in the NBI.

(Photo by Keith Allison via Flickr Creative Commons)