Bukit Aman CCID director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob. -AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star
PETALING JAYA: More than RM20mil in losses to loan scams have been reported to the police since the beginning of the year.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said data showed that 1,987 cases had been reported up to Tuesday (May 18). It is normal to use licensed moneylenders for personal spending, emergencies, business purposes and such, especially among small and medium business owners. However, these establishments have tight conditions that need to be met before any loans are approved. Crime syndicates have seen this as an opportunity to promote their services , with supposedly low-interest rates and fast processing, he said in a statement on Wednesday (May 19).
KUALA LUMPUR: To avoid detection, a group of scammers moved their operations from Penang to an unused factory here.
However, the ruse failed to keep them under the radar as police stormed the hideout barely a month after the “migration”.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigations Department director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob said 25 suspects were arrested during the raid.
“Eleven of them are locals while the rest are Chinese nationals.
“Based on our intelligence gathering, the group moved its operations here after the situation was getting ‘hot’ in Penang, ” he said when met at the scene near Desa Tun Razak yesterday.
Macau scam cases are on the rise with losses amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit yearly.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Comm Datuk Zainuddin Yaacob (
pic) said 5,725 cases were reported in 2019 involving RM254.5mil in losses.
“The cases continued to spike to 6,003 cases last year. The total losses increased to RM287.3mil.
“So far, we received 1,392 cases this year with losses amounting to RM38.1mil, ” he said when contacted yesterday.
The victims were mostly women aged 51 and above, Comm Zainuddin said.
“The syndicates would prey on such victims, using fear as the ultimate tool in duping them to surrender their savings.
Time to mount full-scale offensive against scams, says Lee Lam Thye thestar.com.my - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thestar.com.my Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has claimed that he did not know family members of former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz were involved in the 1MDB scandal, according to a report.
Dr Mahathir was quoted by news portal Malaysiakini as saying that Zeti was appointed to be a member of the Council of Eminent Persons (CEP) based on her experience and performance as a central banker, adding that he was not aware of the 1MDB links when she was appointed to the CEP in 2018. I didn t know, I didn t know. But, Zeti performed very well as a banker. As a central banker, she is well-known worldwide. I appointed a very well-known person.