Malaysian kidnapped in Manila killed despite RM330,000 ransom paid - Police

KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian who worked in Manila, the Philippines, was kidnapped on Oct 22, and later killed by a group of unidentified assailants who had demanded a ransom of RM330,000.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the ransom was paid via the cryptowallet USDT application but on Oct 23, the Philippines authorities had received a report that the body of a man was found in San Simon, Pampanga.

"In the report, the physical description and tatoo on the body matched the description and tatoo of the victim who was kidnapped,” he told reporters after a special CCID media conference, here yesterday.

In a follow up to the case, on Nov 9, the CCID had received an aplication from the Malawakil Manila Attache office to assist in analysing the cryptowallet transaction of a suspect involved in the case.

Ramli said following the analysis carried out, the crypto currency funds transfer trail found that the money was transferred to a currency exchange that is not registered in Malaysia.

"Information received from the exchange revealed the identity of six suspects (all foreigners), who police believe can assist in the kidnap and murder. All information was handed over to the Malawakil Manila Attache office for further investigations," he said.

Meanwhile, 10 police reports have been received in connection with forex investments that involved RM4.7 million since Nov 1 and initial investigations revealed that the website involved in the investment is believed to be operated from abroad.

"The victims who had invested were promised lucrative returns and monthly dividends of five percent for their invested premium. The victims claimed that they were confident of the investment plan through the communication with the suspect held via the "Zoom" application,’’ he said.

Ramli said the investment to the scheme by victims amounting to RM437,253 to RM864,30 was through the 'Huobi application (crypto currency exchange).

He added that based on investigations and analysis on crypto currency, the CCID believe an international syndicate carried out suspicious transactions worth more than RM1 billion and that the police were carrying out a follow up action. - BERNAMA