JOHOR BARU: A director of a private firm has lost RM1.2mil after being lured into joining a fixed deposit scheme by an acquaintance in 2020.
Johor police chief Comm M. Kumar said the 62-year-old local man lodged a police report on Wednesday (June 5) claiming that he was a victim of the scheme.
He said the victim’s acquaintance, a local man working at a financial institution, promoted the scheme known as Sharebooster, which was supposedly managed by the financial institution and offered higher returns compared to others.
Comm Kumar said the victim, attracted by the promises of high profits, handed over several cheques amounting to RM1.8mil to the suspect.
"The victim contacted the suspect early this month to withdraw the compounded interests from the fixed deposit savings, but the suspect gave several excuses," he said.
The victim became suspicious and, after checking with the financial institution, discovered that the suspect had deposited only a small amount of money into the scheme.
"The larger sum of money was deposited into an account belonging to another person whom the victim did not know," he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
Comm Kumar said Johor police would like to remind and advise the public not to be easily duped by parties offering investment schemes with promises of higher profits.
