The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has carried out synchonised raids on more than 24 separate premises in a crackdown against alleged investment fraudsters working in the country.
Over 70 foreigners have been arrested, including British, Philippine, New Zealand and South African nationals, according to private investigation firm IFW Global.
The raids targeted call centres, various registered offices of Malaysian companies and the private homes of key suspects connected to the international syndicate.
Details
The Malaysia-based group is allegedly involved in scamming over A$1bn (£560m, $670m, €630m) from investors over the past 15 years in fake share market deals.
IFW Global represents 20 Australian victims who were allegedly scammed by the syndicate, incurring total losses of A$63m.
The private investigation firm said that the alleged frauds involved purported investment brokers soliciting investments into initial public offerings and other securities. The scammers reportedly placed adverts on Facebook, set up websites and published ‘educational material’ to entice investors to make an enquiry about how to invest in major IPOs and purchase shares in multinational companies.
The alleged fraudsters operated dozens of professional websites and self-published articles to boost the reputation of their fake virtual companies, which often would not last more than three months before closing and phoenixing.
IFW Global said that the group is also accused of laundering billions of dollars into Malaysia from hundreds of different Hong Kong bank accounts. Almost all the victims were instructed to wire money to “transfer agents” and “escrow accounts” in Hong Kong. The accounts were actually controlled by a sophisticated Chinese money laundering syndicate using hundreds of “money mules” from mainland China.
‘Path of destruction’
Ken Gamble, IFW executive chairman, said: “This criminal group has left a path of destruction and financial ruin to the Australian victims.
“These alleged fraudsters claimed to be working for major financial advisory firms in southeast Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea, but they were sitting in secret offices in Malaysia selling non-existent shares using high pressure sales techniques and cleverly prepared sales scripts to scam investors.
“This is one of the most sophisticated and well-established scam syndicates we have seen in many years.”
