Authorities arrested two men in Pasay City in connection with a multimillion-peso investment scam involving luxury goods, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said Wednesday.

NBI agents apprehended Maverick Das Punjabi and Jazpher Macaraig Rayos for alleged large-scale estafa (swindling) and violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act, including computer-related identity theft. The operation was ordered by NBI director Jaime Santiago.

The case began with a complaint alleging Punjabi posed as the nephew and agent of a man named Kumar, who supposedly owned a lending company. Punjabi allegedly offered a P20 million loan in exchange for a "facilitation fee."

Believing Punjabi, the complainant provided a Hermes Birkin handbag valued at P500,000 as the initial fee. Subsequently, individuals claiming to be Kumar and his employees allegedly persuaded the complainant to give them additional luxury bags, jewelry, and other items worth PHP 11.86 million while awaiting the promised loan.

The complainant later learned that the real Kumar did not own a lending company and had no connection to Punjabi. Kumar confirmed this after the complainant contacted him.

On Monday, Punjabi allegedly demanded another P42,000 as a further facilitation fee. This prompted the complainant and Kumar to report the matter to the NBI-National Capital Region (NBI-NCR), leading to an entrapment operation.

During the Tuesday operation at a Pasay City restaurant, Punjabi was arrested after receiving marked money as the additional fee. During booking, a man identifying himself as James Kumar called Punjabi, demanding his share of the money. A follow-up operation led to the arrest of James Kumar, later identified as Jazpher Macaraig Rayos, after he received the marked money from Punjabi.

Both men were presented for inquest proceedings at the Pasay City Prosecutor's Office. Authorities also filed charges against two other individuals, Marco de Guzman and Voltaire, who remain at large. The NBI said the arrests are part of an intensified campaign against widespread scamming activities in the country.