Amalilio can still be deported back to PH, says Binay

Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The alleged brains of the P12-billion Ponzi scam that duped thousands of Filipinos could still be flown back to Manila after serving a year and a half in a Malaysian jail, Vice President Jejomar Binay said recently.

Binay said Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines Dato Mohd Zamri Bin Mohd Kassim had told him of this possibility when the latter paid him a courtesy call on Monday afternoon.

“I hope Amalilio could still be returned here. We have no extradition treaty with Malaysia but we can get him back because we have a legal treaty allowing that,” Binay told reporters in a briefing after receiving Kassim at the Coconut Palace late Monday afternoon.

Binay said Kassim relayed to him that Amalilio might still be flown back to Manila “even if there is no formal bilateral extradition treaty between Manila and Kuala Lumpur.”

Amalilio, currently jailed in Sabah for carrying a fake passport, was supposed to be deported to the Philippines on January 25 to face charges of duping some 15,000 people in an investment scam through his Aman Futures investment company.

He was sentenced to serve a jail term of two years. Binay said Amalilio must first complete two-thirds of the term — a total of 18 months — before his deportation could be processed.

Amalilio and other Aman Futures executives are facing non-bailable syndicated estafa charges for the scam. A standing warrant is out for his arrest in the Philippines.