KUALA LUMPUR: Police have crippled an international fraud syndicate that offered fraudulent online investments to Europeans.
A total of 49 suspects were arrested following a crackdown on the syndicate's Jalan Bukit Bintang office on Feb 6.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said preliminary investigations found that the syndicate was believed to be involved in forex investment fraud targeting citizens of France, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
"The syndicate, which has been operating for six months, is believed to have sent random messages via Telegram and the Riacapital website.
"After victims express interest in the offer, they will be told to invest in the scheme," he told reporters here on Friday (Feb 16).
Comm Ramli said they arrested 31 men and 18 women aged between 20 and 41.
"They included two Malaysians, 11 Guineans, eight Algerians, four each from Togo and Ukraine, three each from Morocco and Mauritius, two each from Cameroon, Congo and Tunisia, and one each from Armenia, Senegal, Haiti, Djibouti, Madagascar and Chad," he said.
Comm Ramli said the two Malaysians played the role of facilitators and helped the syndicate move around.
"Some of the foreigners are believed to have misused their student visas while others had overstayed.
"We confiscated 47 computers, 49 mobile phones, six laptops and two television sets during the raid," he said, adding that the Malaysians have been released on bail while a foreign woman was also released on police bail because she was pregnant.
He said the remaining suspects have been remanded under the Immigration Act.
