Over 600 investors lose RM12mil in alleged forex scam

KUALA LUMPUR: An alleged forex scam syndicate is said to have swindled around RM12mil from 629 victims.

One of the victims, Eng Keen Niam, said he was approached by an old friend to invest in the scheme.

"We have been friends for more than 10 years and in 2019 we were having a chat when he asked me if I was interested in investing with him.

"Since we had been friends for so long, I just transferred RM12,000 into his personal bank account.

"After two months he told me that I had made some profit and I withdrew around RM2,000. It seemed legitimate so I introduced the scheme to family members and friends," the 30-year-old businessman told a press conference at Wisma MCA here on Monday (Sept 27) held by MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.

In total, Eng and others invested around RM12mil in the scheme. However, in October last year, several investors who enquired about withdrawing money from the scheme encountered difficulties.

"My friend assured us that everything was fine but we couldn't withdraw our money when we logged in on the website. Then a week later the website disappeared.

"When we tried to contact my friend's boss, we were told to deal directly with him (my friend) instead," Eng said.

A police report was lodged on Dec 15.

Chong said he has instructed his lawyer to help the group of investors.

"If it is a bad investment, people lose money when they do business. But if it is a scam, my lawyer will go all out to get justice," he said.