MALAYSIA TO DEPORT AMALILIO SOON?

DEPORT.....Reports from Manila are suggesting that Foreign Minister Anifah Aman has agreed to deport Ponzi scheme mastermind and his distant relative Manuel Amalilio to the Philippines.

MANILA: Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman says he favours the early deportation of Ponzi scheme mastermind Manuel Amalilio to the Philippines, a cabinet official said.

According to the Manila Standard, the Malaysian official spoke with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario Friday to confirm the order of the attorney general to freeze Amalilio’s assets.

“Foreign Minister Anifah informed the Secretary that he is strongly advocating the early turnover of Amalilio to the Philippine Government,” the Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Earlier, Malacañang said it would not lift a finger to overturn Amalilio’s conviction in Malaysia amid fears from his 15,000 victims that he will be able to evade the cases filed against him at home.

“It is not a question of being acceptable to us because those are Malaysian laws and that is the legal process of Malaysia,” deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.

“At this point, we do not wish to question their legal process also. We have very high regard for the legal process of any country—not just of Malaysia but all of the countries that we have relations with.”

Amalilio was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Magistrate’s Court in Kota Kinabalu for possession of a fake passport.

He was arrested at the departure hall of Kota Kinabalu International Airport last Jan 5 for possession of a Philippine passport bearing the name Manuel Karingal Amalilio.

Malaysian authorities blocked Amalilio’s deportation on Jan 25.

The businessman was about to board a plane to Manila with agents from the National Bureau of Investigation when they were stopped by the Malaysian authorities.

Amalilio is wanted in the Philippines for scamming 15,000 Filipinos of RM859 million under a company known as Aman Futures Group. Amalillo had claimed to be a nephew of Anifah and Sabah Chief Miniser Musa Aman when courting his victims.

Musa subsequently admitted that Amalilio, known in Sabah as Mohammad Suffian Syed, was a distant relative. (Agencies)