44 investors fleeced of millions of ringgit

By ANDREW SAGAYAM

saggy@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Forty-four people were duped of millions of ringgit by a syndicate operated by Datuks who promised huge returns for a minimum investment in a get-rich-quick scam.

Nine men including three Datuks aged between 40 and 63 were arrested on Monday and remanded until Saturday.

Federal commercial crimes director Commissioner Datuk Ramli Yusuff said the scam was uncovered in the middle of last month when four victims lodged police reports.

The four, said to be a lawyer, a consultant, a technician and the secretary-general of a ministry, claimed that they were cheated of RM16mil.

Comm Ramli urged the remaining 40 victims to come forward. Police are looking for three more syndicate members, all locals in their 30s.

“The Datuks met their victims at five-star hotels after being introduced by runners. The syndicate claimed it had over RM3tril deposited in the Union Bank of Swiss.

“Victims were told to invest RM50,000 to RM75,000 daily for weeks until the cash from Switzerland was transferred to the syndicate's foreign bank accounts here,” Comm Ramli told a press conference at the commercial crimes department headquarters here yesterday.

The syndicate claimed that the cash was public money transferred to the Union Bank of Swiss for safekeeping by the British colonial government before Malaya’s independence.

“The victims were assured of receiving about 35% from the RM3 trillion. To convince the victims, the syndicate forged foreign bank account statements that purportedly showed the large profits the syndicate had made,” said Comm Ramli.