MALAYSIA has sought assistance from authorities in China to obtain a “Serious Offence Certificate” as part of ongoing investigation into fugitive Malaysian businessman Tedy Teow and his MBI Ponzi scheme network, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said the request was made through the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) framework, with the police’s Anti-Money Laundering (Amla) unit submitting the application via the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
“The Amla unit has sought MLA assistance from China via the AGC to obtain criminal offence documents, including a “Serious Offence Certificate”.
“The case remains under police investigation and is currently under consideration by the Chinese authorities,” he said in a written reply to V. Ganabatirau (PH-Klang).
Ganabatirau wanted the ministry to state the forms of cooperation between Malaysia and authorities in China and other countries to trace assets linked to Teow and the MBI Ponzi scheme network, including extradition arrangements, asset forfeiture efforts and the monitoring of cross-border transactions.
According to the Home Minister, although Malaysia does not have an extradition treaty with China, Malaysia still has a strong legal framework to pursue extradition under the Extradition Act 1992.
“Under this Act, an extradition request has been submitted to China based on the principle of reciprocity and a shared commitment to combating cross-border crime and is presently under China’s consideration,” he said.
In terms of asset forfeiture, Saifuddin Nasution said cooperation with foreign authorities focuses on identifying, freezing and confiscating assets believed to be proceeds of crime.
”These efforts are in line with the Extradition Act and relevant international conventions.”
The government, he said, remains committed to bringing all parties involved in cross-border financial crimes to justice and recovering illicit assets.
“It will continue to utilise all available diplomatic and legal channels to ensure that justice is served,” said the minister.
Investors from China claimed that some two million people had been cheated by Teow involving a sum of 500 billion yuan.
Some of the investors flew to Malaysia to search for Teow in 2019 in a bid to recover their investments into MBI’s online pyramid scheme.
Through Interpol, Chinese police sought to arrest Teow by issuing a Red Notice on Nov 9, 2020.
Malaysian authorities froze 91 bank accounts linked to MBI Group International, totalling RM177mil.
Bank Negara also listed MBI as a company running a dubious financial scheme.
Teow operates a hotel, theme park, furniture business, property development and entertainment complexes, including a resort in Danok at the Thailand-Malaysia border.
He also built a business empire from online investment schemes that attracted investors from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Macau.
Thai police arrested Teow on July 21, 2022, for allegedly operating an online casino and money laundering after raiding MBI’s office in Songkhla.
