KUALA LUMPUR: For more than three years, the numbers on their screens told a convincing story.
Steady gains, smooth withdrawals and returns of up to 5% every fortnight.
Encouraged by the early outcome, many doubled down, pumping in more of their hard-earned savings into a scheme they thought was the answer to luxury and a comfy retirement.
Then, almost overnight, the kill switch was flicked and they lost it all to a scheme that swindled victims across the globe of close to RM100bil.
On Tuesday, more than 300 foreign nationals arrived in Malaysia to seek justice after allegedly losing more than RM8bil to a fraudulent online investment scheme believed to be run by a Penang-based Malaysian, said their lawyer Andy Yeoh.
The victims, mostly small-time businessmen and salaried employees comprised largely of Chinese nationals along with others from Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.
Yeoh said the victims first came across the scheme known as “High Inspirations” on a popular online platform in 2018 when it began operations.
He said over the next four years, the victims channelled funds into the scheme after being persuaded by the alleged Malaysian mastermind that they could earn returns of up to 5% monthly.
“In the early stages, the returns matched their investments. They were even able to cash out profits. But from September 2021 onwards, the facade began to crumble.
“The scheme’s website started experiencing disruptions before eventually disabling withdrawals altogether. The victims were unable to make withdrawals but the website remained active until it was deactivated last year.
“About 300 of our clients alone who were left in the lurch lost roughly RM8bil. Authorities in China have classified it as a pyramid scheme,” Yeoh told a press conference at his law firm here yesterday.
According to records on the website, he added, there were about 970,000 account holders of various nationalities worldwide involving between 500,000 and 600,000 individuals who had parted with funds amounting to over RM93bil.
Yeoh said that police reports were lodged yesterday by seven of the foreign victims who collectively lost about RM24mil.
Yeoh said the alleged individual behind the scheme was traced to Penang.
“We sent him a legal notice demanding that he return the funds to the victims.
“However, in his reply, he denied any involvement in the scheme and claimed to be unaware of it. We also learnt that he is a person of interest in a separate police case involving money laundering” he said.
Yeoh added that the scheme has since been blacklisted by Bank Negara Malaysia in its financial consumer alert list.
