Crying foul over fraud: Victims scammed by the forex investment scheme showing their reports, with Hishamuddin (left) and MHO public relations head Andrew Foo (second right) near the bank’s Penang branch in Lebuh Light. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: At just 33, Lee had worked hard to get 1,000 downliners in an “investment scheme” and thought he had earned RM3mil for his work.
Hun, 35, had personally invested RM100,000 and recruited 300 others. He, too, thought he was in for a windfall.
They were badly mistaken.
Instead, they were among many who fell victim to scammers who are believed to have made away with RM104.75mil.
Yesterday, about 200 victims gathered outside the Bank Negara office in Lebuh Light here, demanding that authorities investigate the scheme and hold the operators accountable.
They claim the operation was led by a Russian who claimed to have extensive expertise in forex trading.
A total of 388 investors have lodged police reports, with losses amounting to RM104.75mil, said Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim, who was also at the gathering.
He added that 80 people were from Indonesia and 30 from Singapore.
There could be more but the scheme’s mastermind had threatened victims with cessation of repayments if police reports were filed, discouraging many from coming forward, Hishamuddin said.
“Investors range from retirees to professionals like doctors, bankers and lawyers, with individual investments from RM20,000 to over RM1mil each.
“This scheme involves a company registered in both Indonesia and Labuan, allegedly managed by a licensed forex broker in Malaysia,” he said.
Hun said he was exasperated over the loss.
“We saw the mastermind in Penang, with bodyguards around.Payments stopped last year, and we’ve been trying to track him down,” he said.
From 2016 to 2022, everything had gone according to plan. The consistent payouts solidified their trust in the scheme, luring them into investing more and recruiting more downliners.
But all of this came to a halt in 2022.
One of the investors, who wished to be identified only as Tan, 32, shared that he initially invested RM20,000 as capital, joining a network of 50 to 60 individuals.
Together, they lost about RM10mil in unrecovered profits.
“We were promised annual returns of 20% to 30%, but the payments stopped in 2022, and the agent disappeared.
“We invested RM5mil, with another RM10mil in repayments stuck in the accounts,” he said.
Hishamuddin urged Bank Negara to act swiftly, citing provisions under Malaysian law that allow prosecution of perpetrators even if they are overseas.
