Forex Scam Victims Claim A Russian Was Behind The Fraudulent Operation

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About 200 individuals who fell victim to a fraudulent investment scheme gathered outside Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) Penang branch on Lebuh Light yesterday (9 December), demanding authorities to investigate the scam and hold the operators accountable.

According to a report by The Star, the scammers were believed to have made off with RM104.75 million.

The victims claim that the operation was led by a Russian, who claimed to have extensive expertise in forex trading.

Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim, who was also at the gathering, said a total of 388 investors had lodged police reports. He added that 80 people were from Indonesia and 30 from Singapore.

Hishamuddin said he suspects there could be more victims, but the mastermind behind the scheme had threatened the victims with cessation of repayments if police reports were filed, discouraging many from coming forward.

“Investors range from retirees to professionals like doctors, bankers, and lawyers, with individual investments ranging from RM20,000 to over RM1 million each,” he said.

“The scheme involves a company registered in both Indonesia and Labuan, allegedly managed by a licenced broker in Malaysia,” he said.

Speaking to The Star, one of the victims named Lee, who is 33 years old, said he had worked hard to get 1,000 downliners in the investment scheme and thought he had earned RM3 million for his work.

Another victim named Hun was said to have personally invested RM100,000 and recruited 300 more individuals as his downlines.

“We saw the mastermind in Penang, with bodyguards around. Payments stopped last year and we’ve been trying to track him down,” Hun said.

The scheme was reportedly going well from 2016 to 2022, and the consistent payouts solidified their (the victims) trust in the scheme, which in turn lured them into investing more money and recruiting more followers.

But the scheme was too good to be true and it all came to a halt in 2022.

One of the investors, who wished only to be known as Tan, shared that he initially invested RM20,000 as capital, joining a network of 50 to 60 individuals.

The 32-year-old and the entire group lost about RM10 million in profits.

“We invested RM5 million with another RM10 million in repayments stuck in the accounts,” Tan said to The Star.

Hishamuddin has urged BNM to act swiftly on this matter, citing provisions under Malaysian law that allow prosecution of perpetrators even if they are overseas.

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