Businessman loses RM191,000 after falling victim to crypto investment scam

KOTA BHARU (Bernama): A businessman in his thirties suffered a loss of RM191,000 after falling victim to a crypto currency investment scheme scam.

Kelantan police chief, Datuk Shafien Mamat said the victim's girlfriend had proposed that he join the scheme, which promised a daily 1% return based on a pre-determined duration.

"In a span of just one week, the victim had made investment transactions totalling RM242,000 by making payments to four individual accounts to purchase cryptocurrencies for investment purposes through an e-wallet application that is downloaded from the investment website.

"The status of investments of the victim is monitored through the e-wallet application," he said in a media statement here on Friday (Oct 22).

According to Shafien, the case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code which provides for a jail term of between one to 10 years with whipping and a fine if found guilty.

He urged the public to be careful when making face-to-face or online investments. He also advised the public to check with the relevant authorities like the Security Commission (SC), Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) or Bank Negara (BNM) before making investments. - Bernama