Warning Against Multitel Group, Philippines

I knew there was something fishy when several acquaintances of mine kept asking me to invest in Multitel, Philippines. Imagine, you'll get 4% to 5% every month. Too good to be true, right?

I asked my friends what kind of business Multitel was in that allowed them to pay me 60% per annum, and all I got was: "It's a business secret. If you insist on knowing, then don't invest anymore..."

Smells fishy, right? Well, I'm glad the Philippine's SEC issued warnings against the Multitel Group in the Philippines:

SEC issues new warning against Multitel Group (PDI, Aug 24, 2002) "We suggest to those investors (with Multitel group) to get their money back because they may lose all of them since we are really going after each and every one of the subsidiaries of Multitel that apparently have gone underground, Bautista said."

Multitel's Ponzi scam: New face of greed (PDI, Nov 10, 2002)

Multinational Telecom Investors Corp., a domestic company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1988, started under the name of Ariolite Enterprises International Corp. In August 2000, the SEC approved the company's change of name and its primary purpose as a lending investor, provided that its borrowings would not come from more than 19 lenders. It was the brainchild of Rosario "Rose" Baladjay nee Austria, married to another ex-Eastern Telecom employee, a certain Saturnino "Ninoy" Baladjay.