Tug-of-war keeps fugitive MBI founder in Thailand

Wanted: Both Malaysia and China are seeking Teow’s extradition to their countries.

GEORGE TOWN: Fugitive businessman Tedy Teow is said to still be in Thailand with both China and Malaysia “crusading” to repatriate him to face money-laundering charges.

According to a report, sources familiar with the investigation claimed that the MBI founder was supposed to be repatriated to Malaysia on Tuesday.

But there could be a deviation in destination for him as Thai authorities are said to have also received an extradition request from the Chinese government.

On July 22, Teow, 55, was arrested in a police raid at his MBI Group’s office in Dannok, Sadao, at the Thai-Malaysian border.

The Penang-born entrepreneur built a business empire on elaborate investment schemes involving people from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Macau.

In January 2021, Johor police revealed that his real estate company was suspected of using stolen funds to invest in real estate in Penang.

The company was also involved in scams that moved illegal money through multiple layers of commercial bank accounts to invest in real estate and virtual currencies.

The properties in Penang were estimated to be worth RM25mil.

It was initially reported that Teow would be taken to Johor for investigations, but it was later stated that he would be taken to China for trial.

However, Malaysian police were said to be applying for a repatriation order for Teow to return to assist investigations under Section 420 for cheating.

Beijing police also want Teow for questioning as a suit was filed at the end of last year by about 400 investors from China who want to recover investments worth some RM100mil.

In 2019, about 100 Chinese people held a peaceful protest outside the Chinese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. They claimed that an online pyramid scheme run by MBI had cheated them out of money.