PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)'s investigation into an investment scam syndicate will also be looking at the role of five major banks implicated in the case.
A source told Sinar Harian that the investment scam syndicate allegedly created accounts with these five banks to illegally transfer money abroad.
According to the report, officers in the respective banks allegedly received RM1,000 each to open accounts without following bank protocols.
"The syndicate would transfer money from these bank accounts into their real accounts and then close them within three months to go undetected.
"Apart from these five banks, MACC is investigating seven dummy companies owned by the scam syndicate in Kuala Lumpur and Penang," the source said.
They said up to 20 bank officials were involved, including lawyers, auditors, secretaries, accountants and company directors.
"We (MACC) believe these dummy companies were registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) to assist in the fraudulent investments and illegal bank transfers," he said.
He said MACC believed the scam syndicate was not only carrying out scam operations in Malaysia but also Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
"Early investigation found that the syndicate made transactions of up to RM1mil each day and RM200mil in three months," he said.
Meanwhile, MACC anti-money laundering division director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin confirmed that two British members of the syndicate would be charged at the Kuala Lumpur court on Thursday (March 16).
On February 22, MACC uncovered the syndicate's plans during its raid operations of three professional call centres, a number of company premises and residential homes around Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
As many as 10 syndicate members were arrested during the raids.
Syndicate members would scam victims from all around the world through social media and phone calls.
The members would get victims' personal details after tricking them to click on advertising links promoting a fraudulent investment scheme.
The syndicate has earned about AU$60mil (RM200mil) by defrauding victims locally since 2019 and up to RM1bil worldwide through their international operations.
On Feb 28, MACC arrested a 41-year-old foreign male believed to be a syndicate member who would set up these fraudulent schemes.
The suspect, who is said to have created fake websites to lure and persuade victims to invest in fraudulent companies online, was arrested by special forces after arriving at Kuala Lumpur during his travel from Cambodia to the UK.
On March 3, MACC carried out a number of raids at bank premises, money changers and company registration agencies around Kuala Lumpur after they were suspected of assisting the syndicate in their scams.
