KUALA LUMPUR:Ten members of a mule account syndicate were arrested in raids by Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department around Kuala Lumpur and Selangor from Nov 5 to 10.
The syndicate uses bank accounts of low-income individuals for illegal activities such as investment fraud and other scams.
Bukit Aman CCID director Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said all the suspects arrested were locals aged between 20 and 32 comprising seven men and three women, and they were believed to have purchased each ATM card for between RM500 to RM800 from members of the public.
Members of the syndicate are believed to influence 'investors' by promising them a healthy return, and after a victim places money into the account, they will withdraw it via automatic teller machine (ATM) cards obtained from the account holders who are unaware that the accounts are being used for fraud.
"Following the arrests, the police have received a total of 32 reports involving mule account cases nationwide, involving losses worth about RM1.2 million,” he said.
Zainuddin said members of the syndicate were also found renting condominiums for between RM3,000 to RM5,000 a month to prevent their activities from being detected by the authorities.
"All the suspects are being investigated under Section 424 of the Penal Code as they are believed to be involved in fraud cases, and currently, all the suspects are being detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) 1959 for 21 days," he said.
In a separate case, the CCID also arrested 10 individuals suspected of being involved in the EssenceFX (Forex) investment syndicate during raids conducted at four locations around the Klang Valley on Nov 19.
The suspects aged 25 to 42 comprised eight local men and a woman as well as an Indonesian believed to be the girlfriend of the syndicate leader known as 'Joe Kedah'.
"The police previously received 72 reports involving losses of RM20.5 million suffered by the victims linked to this syndicate," he said.
Zainuddin said the syndicate was believed to have encouraged victims to invest in Forex by promising a profit of five to eight per cent per month through the EssenceFX platform using the ‘Metatrade 4’ application.
"The victims only realised that they had been cheated after the website was no longer accessible. Following the arrests, all suspects were placed under remand for five days until Nov 24," he said, adding all of them were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud as well as the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA).
The police also confiscated 10 luxury cars, 17 mobile phones, 11 computers, RM10,000 in cash and other equipment used in the activity.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Tue Nov 24 2020
Zainuddin says all suspects arrested were locals aged between 20 and 32 comprising seven men and three women. - Filepix
Bekas gabenor New York, anak tiri diserang empat individu
Kedua-dua mangsa mengalami kecederaan di bahagian muka serta badan dan dikejarkan ke hospital untuk menerima rawatan.
Tentera AS lancar serangan di bandar Yaman
AS menyerang 15 sasaran Houthi di kawasan yang dikawal oleh kumpulan yang disokong Iran itu.
Korea Selatan pindahkan 97 rakyatnya dari Lubnan
Kementerian Luar Korea Selatan maklumkan, kesemua mereka tiba di Korea Selatan pada petang Sabtu.
Pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula 23 September lalu.
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
Lebih 2,000 terkorban di Lubnan akibat serangan Israel
Laporan Al Jazeera menyebut, jumlah mangsa yang maut itu termasuk 261 wanita dan 127 kanak-kanak.
AWANI Pagi: Pendayaupayaan Pembangunan Sosio Ekonomi Bagi Memacu Wilayah Persekutuan
Ikuti temu bual bersama Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Wilayah Persekutuan), Dr Zaliha Mustafa di #AWANIPagi jam 7.30 pagi di saluran 501 Astro AWANI.
Pentagon, Jabatan Negara AS beri amaran jenayah perang Israel
Pegawai-pegawai tersebut telah memberi amaran peningkatan jumlah kematian di Gaza mungkin melanggar undang-undang antarabangsa.
200,000 pelarian tiba di Syria selepas serangan Israel ke atas Lubnan - UNHCR
Lebih 200,000 warga Syria dan Lubnan telah tiba di Syria dari Lubnan sejak serangan Israel bermula pada 23 Sept.
Belanjawan 2025: Kesalinghubungan internet di sekolah, kampus jadi keutamaan - Fahmi
Kementerian Komunikasi akan memberikan keutamaan dengan meneruskan usaha untuk meningkatkan dan memantapkan lagi prasarana kesalinghubungan melibatkan isu Internet, dalam Belanjawan 2025 yang akan dibentangkan pada 18 Okt ini.
Penipuan dalam talian: Pemegang akaun keldai harus dikenakan hukuman berat
Hukuman berat harus dikenakan ke atas pemegang akaun keldai yang menjadi penyumbang kepada berlakunya jenayah penipuan dalam talian.
Penuntut, suri rumah dan pesara mangsa mudah 'akaun keldai'
Golongan ini mudah menjadi sasaran kerana terdesak mahu mendapatkan wang dengan senang dan pantas selain tidak mempunyai pendapatan tetap.