Latest news with #RM2.35
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Two men lose RM2.35 million to online investment scams
GEORGE TOWN: Two men, including a senior citizen, suffered a loss of RM2.35 million after each fell victim to online investment fraud syndicates, in separate incidents in Penang recently. Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said in the first case, the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (BSJK) of Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters received a complaint from a 57-year-old local man who is an insurance agent in Perai, yesterday after suffering a loss of almost RM1.5 million. 'According to the man, he had seen a stock investment advertisement promising high returns on Facebook in December and the victim then contacted the female suspect via the WhatsApp application. 'The investment offered various packages with promises of lucrative returns and the victim was interested in participating, before downloading the stock investment application and on Dec 30 made the first transfer of RM9,999 and earning a profit of RM18,400,' he said in a statement today. He said that following that his confidence grew in the investment, the victim then made 35 money transfers between Feb 17 and April 24 into seven bank accounts belonging to different companies involving a total of RM1,495,176. Hamzah said the man only realised he had been a victim of fraud after failing to withdraw profits on the investment application and was even asked to make an additional payment. For the second case, he said a 73-year-old elderly man who is a retired accountant at a factory had filed a police report at north-east police headquarters yesterday after also falling victim to an online investment scam involving a loss of RM855,001. 'According to the victim, he saw an investment advertisement for cryptocurrency investments that offered high profits in a short period of time on Facebook in March and the elderly person clicked on the advertisement link before contacting the female suspect via the WhatsApp application,' he said. Hamzah said the victim joined and downloaded the investment application before making 14 transactions to five bank accounts belonging to different companies from April 15 to June 11, but did not receive any profits. He said further investigations were being carried out to trace the fraud syndicate network and both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which is cheating.
The Sun
13 hours ago
- The Sun
Two men in Penang lose RM2.35 million in investment scams
GEORGE TOWN: Two men, including a senior citizen, suffered a loss of RM2.35 million after each fell victim to online investment fraud syndicates, in separate incidents in Penang recently. Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said in the first case, the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (BSJK) of Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters received a complaint from a 57-year-old local man who is an insurance agent in Perai, yesterday after suffering a loss of almost RM1.5 million. 'According to the man, he had seen a stock investment advertisement promising high returns on Facebook in December and the victim then contacted the female suspect via the WhatsApp application. 'The investment offered various packages with promises of lucrative returns and the victim was interested in participating, before downloading the stock investment application and on Dec 30 made the first transfer of RM9,999 and earning a profit of RM18,400,' he said in a statement today. He said that following that his confidence grew in the investment, the victim then made 35 money transfers between Feb 17 and April 24 into seven bank accounts belonging to different companies involving a total of RM1,495,176. Hamzah said the man only realised he had been a victim of fraud after failing to withdraw profits on the investment application and was even asked to make an additional payment. For the second case, he said a 73-year-old elderly man who is a retired accountant at a factory had filed a police report at north-east police headquarters yesterday after also falling victim to an online investment scam involving a loss of RM855,001. 'According to the victim, he saw an investment advertisement for cryptocurrency investments that offered high profits in a short period of time on Facebook in March and the elderly person clicked on the advertisement link before contacting the female suspect via the WhatsApp application,' he said. Hamzah said the victim joined and downloaded the investment application before making 14 transactions to five bank accounts belonging to different companies from April 15 to June 11, but did not receive any profits. He said further investigations were being carried out to trace the fraud syndicate network and both cases were being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, which is cheating.
Barnama
15 hours ago
- Business
- Barnama
Two Men In Penang Lose RM2.35 Mln In Investment Scams
GEORGE TOWN, June 22 (Bernama) -- Two men, including a senior citizen, suffered a loss of RM2.35 million after each fell victim to online investment fraud syndicates, in separate incidents in Penang recently. Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said in the first case, the Commercial Crime Investigation Division (BSJK) of Seberang Perai Tengah district police headquarters received a complaint from a 57-year-old local man who is an insurance agent in Perai, yesterday after suffering a loss of almost RM1.5 million. "According to the man, he had seen a stock investment advertisement promising high returns on Facebook in December and the victim then contacted the female suspect via the WhatsApp application. "The investment offered various packages with promises of lucrative returns and the victim was interested in participating, before downloading the stock investment application and on Dec 30 made the first transfer of RM9,999 and earning a profit of RM18,400," he said in a statement today. He said that following that his confidence grew in the investment, the victim then made 35 money transfers between Feb 17 and April 24 into seven bank accounts belonging to different companies involving a total of RM1,495,176. Hamzah said the man only realised he had been a victim of fraud after failing to withdraw profits on the investment application and was even asked to make an additional payment. For the second case, he said a 73-year-old elderly man who is a retired accountant at a factory had filed a police report at north-east police headquarters yesterday after also falling victim to an online investment scam involving a loss of RM855,001. "According to the victim, he saw an investment advertisement for cryptocurrency investments that offered high profits in a short period of time on Facebook in March and the elderly person clicked on the advertisement link before contacting the female suspect via the WhatsApp application," he said. Hamzah said the victim joined and downloaded the investment application before making 14 transactions to five bank accounts belonging to different companies from April 15 to June 11, but did not receive any profits.
New Straits Times
17 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Senior citizen, insurance agent lose over RM2.3mil in online scams
GEORGE TOWN: Two men, including a senior citizen, have lost a combined total of RM2.35 million in separate online investment scams, prompting police to urge the public to exercise greater caution when engaging with financial schemes on social media platforms. In the first case reported in Seberang Prai Tengah, a 57-year-old insurance agent was cheated of RM1.49 million after falling victim to an online investment scam involving a platform called XGI Horizon. State police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said the victim was first lured in by a Facebook advertisement in December last year and later communicated with a female suspect via WhatsApp. "He was encouraged to download the XGI Horizon application and made an initial investment of RM9,999, which appeared to generate a return of RM18,400. "This convinced him to make 35 further transactions into seven company bank accounts between Feb 17 and April 24 this year," he said in a statement today. Hamzah said the victim became suspicious when he was unable to withdraw his funds and was asked to make additional payments to access his returns. Realising he had been deceived, the man lodged a police report. Hamzah said that in the second case, a 73-year-old retired factory accountant from the northeast district here was conned out of RM855,001 after investing in what was purported to be a cryptocurrency platform known as Gexertmat Exchange. He said the victim had come across the investment advertisement on Facebook in early March and was later contacted via WhatsApp by a woman who introduced him to the scheme. "The suspect instructed the victim to download the Gexertmat Exchange app, register as a member, and begin investing. "Between April 15 and June 11, the victim made 14 transactions to five separate company accounts," he added. Hamzah said the victim only realised he had been duped when no promised returns were received. He, too, lodged a police report. Both cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating. Hamzah reminded the public that online investment schemes promising high returns were often fraudulent.
New Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Supercharging special economic zone
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has partnered with six local and global financial institutions to drive investments and financing support for its special economic zone in Johor. The banks are Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Bank of America, HSBC, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and CGS International Securities. They inked Letters of Intent (LoIs) with the Economy Ministry on Monday, outlining interests in joint efforts to supercharge the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Malaysia and Singapore established JS-SEZ in January, looking to boost investment and ease the movement of goods and people between the neighbours. Malaysia aims to get 50 high-value projects off the ground and create 20,000 high skilled jobs at the zone within the next five years. Economy Minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said talks are being held with a European-based bank as the country looks to rope in more partners to promote the cross-border initiative. Rafizi said these partnerships, sealed during the JS-SEZ Partners Dialogue here, underscore the growing investor confidence in the SEZ's potential to drive economic transformation in southern Johor and beyond. Maybank became the first bank to come up with potential investments from its clients. The bank supports up to RM2.35 billion in potential investments through LoIs submitted by four Singapore-based firms. The four are Alpine Renewables, Edible Oils Pte Ltd, Centurion Corporation Ltd and Thomson Medical Group Ltd (TMG). "These LOIs signal confidence in the JS-SEZ's strategic value," Maybank president and group chief executive officer Datuk Khairussaleh Ramli said in a statement. "Maybank takes a long-term view of the zone's success and actively promotes broad-based participation from MSMEs to mid- to large-cap and multinational corporations in diverse sectors. "We believe that inclusivity is fundamental to building a vibrant, integrated and resilient ecosystem within the JS-SEZ." Alpine Renewables, through its Malaysian unit Alpine Assets Management Sdn Bhd, plans to invest about RM350 million over the next three years in a renewable energy feedstock pretreatment and biodiesel refinery facility at Tanjong Langsat Industrial Port. The facility is expected to process up to 600,000 tonnes of renewable feedstock oil annually, strengthening the port's role as a regional hub for marine biofuels. Alpine currently supplies biofuel feedstocks to markets in Europe, China, South Korea and the United States. Centurion Corporation, an SGX-listed provider of worker and student accommodation, intends to invest between RM300 million and RM500 million over the next five years to expand its bed capacity in the JS-SEZ. The company's focus is on developing Centralised Living Quarters certified by the Jabatan Tenaga Kerja Semenanjung Malaysia (and compliant with the Employees' Minimum Standards of Housing, Accommodations and Amenities Act 1990. TMG, also listed on the SGX, plans to invest up to RM1.5 billion over the next decade to build Thomson Hospital Iskandariah on a 1.5-hectare site in Stulang, Iskandar Malaysia. The hospital is set to become a healthcare anchor within the JS-SEZ, operating under a public-private partnership model. The project is expected to generate around 1,500 jobs in clinical services, research, specialist care, and healthcare technology. Meanwhile, Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the JS-SEZ will be the catalyst for Malaysia's growth as it enhances bilateral trade and investment relation with Singapore and across the globe. "Already we have seen the construction of data centre which has contributed significantly to construction sector. "The sector has been growing at double digit for multiple quarters in a row especially data centre construction in Johor. The availability of land resources, energy, water and telecommunications to name a few would facilitate the growth node in the state," he told Business Times. Afzanizam said key factors that need to be addressed are the bureaucracy among the relevant government agencies at state and federal level in order to yield positive experience among the business and investing community. He also said the prevailing tariff shocks suggests a dire needs for intra-Asean trade and investment linkages. "JS-SEZ can be such catalysts. It can be cross-border template to integrate other SEZs in the Asean region and become the major hubs for various industries such as advanced manufacturing and electronics, logistics and warehousing, green energy, agri-food and halal industry as well as healthcare and education," he added.
