Kapa founder Joel Apolinario has been recently arrested in a resort in Surigao del Sur. | Inquirer.net file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is “looking forward” to the progress of the pending cases against the Kapa-Community Ministry International (KAPA) after the recent arrest of its leader Joel Apolinario in Surigao del Sur.
In a statement sent to the media, SEC said that with Apolinario captured and jailed, the progress of the resolution of the criminal cases initiated by SEC would bring justice to the hundreds of Filipinos scammed by the alleged investment company.
“The Commission stands committed to protecting the public from predatory and fraudulent investment schemes, more so during the pandemic. It will be persistent in pursuing the perpetrators,” read a statement of SEC Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino.
The KAPA scheme was discovered last year and current criminal proceedings according to SEC started after a complaint filed on June 18, 2019 after finding out that KAPA enticed the public to invest at least P10,000 in exchange for a 30 percent monthly return for life, without having to do anything other than invest and wait for the payout.
Apolinario aside from the syndicated estafa charges will also face charges for violations of the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition, the law on illegal possession of explosives, Articles 147 (illegal association) and 148 (direct assault) of the Revised Penal Code together with 21 others in relation to their arrest last July 21.
Read: Kapa founder falls in Surigao del Sur raid
Last June 2019, members of Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) and the National Bureau of Investigation raided the KAPA office in Barangay Poblacion, Compostela town and confiscated ledgers, journals and other office documents used in their operations.
The raid was based on the warrant issued by Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20 Judge Marivic Basili Umali against Kapa.
Read: RSOG, NBI-7 search Kapa office; confiscate members records