KUALA TERENGGANU - A businessman lost RM5.2 million after being duped into investing in non-existent investment scheme advertised on Facebook.
Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairudin said the 67-year-old victim came across a Facebook advertisement promoting a stock investment and was interested in participating in the scheme, which was allegedly based in China.
He said the victim was instructed to download the MMcT-Pro application through a link sent via email, purportedly to monitor his investment.
"The victim, who was promised high profits within a short period, was then asked to make three payments amounting to RM100,000
"Initially, the victim managed to withdraw RM89,800 in three transactions via the application, with the funds credited to his account from a source linked to an unknown company,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Khairi said said the victim, who became increasingly convinced of the scheme's legitimacy, made an investment of RM240,000 to purchase stocks, with payments made in stages to various bank accounts.
However, he said for the subsequent withdrawal, the victim was instructed to pay RM1 million as part of the profit-sharing arrangement.
"After making the payment, the victim was asked to pay RM1.7 million in taxes, which he did at a local bank counter.
"It didn’t end there; the victim was then directed to make a deposit of RM520,000, which was claimed to be for an investigation by the Securities Commission,” he said.
According to Khairi, the victim transferred a total of RM5.2 million in 13 transactions to seven separate local bank accounts for his investment.
"Realising he had been deceived, the victim filed a report at the Kuala Terengganu district police headquarters,” he said, adding that the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code. - BERNAMA