Syndicate invested in cryptocurrency worth more than RM336mil
JOHOR BARU: Police have crippled a major Macau Scam syndicate which used its ill-gotten gains to buy property and invest in cryptocurrency totalling more than RM336mil.
At least 12 suspects – nine men and three women – were arrested in a series of raids in Penang and Kuala Lumpur last month.
Among the suspects were company directors.
Johor police chief Comm Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay ( pic) said in Ops Pelican 2.0, police uncovered an intricate web of how the syndicate operated, including the identity of the mastermind, numerous mule accounts, fake companies and investments.
Victims who have been duped by the syndicate would first be told to transfer money into a mule account.
“The money is then channelled to another mule account belonging to another company,” he said, adding that all the mule accounts belonged to syndicate members and were designed not to leave a money trail.
Comm Ayob said the funds were then transferred to a property developer in Penang to purchase property and invest in Bitcoins.
“This modus operandi aimed to avoid detection from the authorities and was their way of money laundering,” he said during a press conference at the Johor police headquarters yesterday.
To date, police have found 91 mule accounts comprising 73 company bank accounts and 18 personal accounts.
“Since June last year, some RM25mil has been used to make progress payment for 100 condominium and commercial units in George Town,” he said.
Based on the Sale and Purchase Agreements, two companies are involved in property acquisition in 2015 totalling RM336mil.
Comm Ayob said the two companies belonged to the 55-year-old mastermind who has a criminal record. He is believed to have fled the country and is currently hiding in Thailand.
The man’s two sons are directors in the companies.
“Our investigations showed that some of the proxies and directors in the bogus companies are paid RM16,000 monthly,” he said.
The 12 suspects, aged between 29 and 68, have since been released on police bail.
Police are probing the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
The 55-year-old is now linked to an elaborate web of scams, including Macau scams
and others, through the setting up of layers of shell companies using
drug addicts as directors to launder ill-gotten gains and then investing
them in high-end properties in Malaysia and Thailand.1 day ago
You carry your smartphone everywhere. But the
way you use it could leave you vulnerable to specific forms of identity
theft, including robocall scams and hackers looking to hijack your phone
number. — AP
Scammers busted: Penang CCID chief ACP Abdul Ghani Ahmad, flanked by DSP K. Balachandran and DSP Shamsul Farid Abdul Rani, showing seized passports, a photocopy of a MyKad and a letter during a press conference on the Macau Scam syndicate in George Town.
But the ‘officer’ on the other end of the line may well have been a member of a Macau Scam syndicate, which cloned the phone number of the state police headquarters to use in its con game. The operation, believed to have netted RM2.74mil so far, was smash
Syndicate cloned police phone number to trick 82 victims this year.
GEORGE TOWN: A Macau Scam syndicate has duped victims of more than RM2.74mil, using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to replicate the telephone number of the Penang police headquarters to con victims.
No fewer than 82 people had fallen prey to the scam since February.
The syndicate used a three-storey bungalow as its training centre before the members were deployed to Japan, Cambodia, Thailand and other Asian countries.
On Saturday, the syndicate was crippled by police following the arrest of 50 people, including three women.
Penang Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) chief Asst Comm Abdul Ghani Ahmad said the suspects, aged between 17 and 42, were arrested at the bungalow in Taman Damai Utama in Puchong, Selangor, at about 8am.
“Intelligence gathering was carried out for about a month after we received a police report from a woman in Balik Pulau, who transferred RM5,000 to an account given by the scammers,” he told a press conference at the state police headquarters in Penang Road yesterday.
“She was told that her bank account would be frozen by Bank Negara Malaysia.
“The scammers promised to return the money to her a week later after the ‘investigations’ were over, but she did not get her money back.”
ACP Abdul Ghani said police investigations revealed that one of the suspects would pose as a bank officer and tell the victim that he or she had a loan with a particular bank.
If the victim denied it, the scammer would give them the contact number of a “Bank Negara officer” – another scammer – to check out the claim.
Those who are still not convinced would then receive a call from 04222 1522, which appeared to be the general line of the state police headquarters but had been replicated or cloned using VoIP technology to appear as such.
ACP Abdul Ghani added that another scammer, posing as a CCID officer, would then tell the victim that his or her bank account had been misused for criminal activities and was frozen pending investigation.
“The scammer will then ask the victim to transfer money to a specific account, and that would be the last they see of their money,” he said.
ACP Abdul Ghani added that 82 reports were lodged nationwide on this scam so far this year.
He said police also seized five mobile phones, a laptop, photocopied MyKad, photocopied passports, a set of scripts on what to say when posing as a police officer and bank officer, and 31 Malaysian passports.
In Police Custody: Some of the passports and Mykads seized from the Macau Scam syndicate being displayed at the state police headquarters in Georgetown.
“We are also checking if the mastermind was among the suspects arrested,” he said.
ACP Abdul Ghani added that the suspects were remanded for three days until today and would be brought to the Balik Pulau court for remand extension pending investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating.
Nobody knows exactly how the term “Macau Scam” came to be used.
However, former Interpol president Tan Sri Khoo Boon Hui has been quoted as saying that the scam apparently originated from Macau and was operated from other countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
Another version circulating was that the first victims were in Macau, but the Macau police have declined to comment.
Source: The Star by crystal chiam shiyingandmuhammad nazrul haffiz salim
Remand of Macau Scam suspects extended
BALIK PULAU: Fifty suspects of the Macau Scam syndicate have their remand order extended by another three days by a magistrate’s court here.
Sirens from four police cars blared as two trucks arrived at the courthouse at about 8.40am yesterday.
Dressed in purple lockup T-shirts, the suspects, aged between 17 and 42 who include three women, hid their faces when they saw the press corp.
They are believed to be part of a Macau Scam syndicate which used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to swindle 82 victims of more than RM2.74mil since February.
It was reported that the syndicate used VoIP to replicate the hotline number of the Penang police headquarters to trick victims.
They were arrested at a bungalow in Taman Damai Utama in Puchong, Selangor, at about 8am on Saturday after a woman from Balik Pulau lodged a report, claiming she had been duped into transferring RM5,000 to an account.
Police are investigating the case under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. - The Star
