10 ILLEGAL SCHEMES, RM1.14B IN LOSSES
Those involving e-Money resulted in loss of RM700m, says SSM CEO
THE Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has identified 10 illegal investment schemes in the country, which have caused losses of RM1.14 billion between 2015 and last year.
Its chief executive officer, Datuk Zahrah Abd Wahab Fenner, said the commission received information from enforcement activities conducted with other enforcement agencies, as well as complaints from 758,851 victims of the schemes during the threeyear period.
She said during the same period, SSM received 227 complaints in relation to illegal investment scheme cases.
“We detected 10 types of illegal investment schemes involving emoney, which is an investment without products, and resulted in the highest loss, that of RM700 million.
“Foreign exchange investment schemes, currency exchanges, solar bonds, date farms, chilli plants, Wi-Fi, coconut-based investments, vacation packages and business models have also been detected looking for potential victims in the country.”
She said this at the Youngpreneurs Go Carnival (YPGO) at Universiti Teknologi Nasional (Uniten) Muadzam Shah here yesterday. It was launched by Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism secretary-general Datuk Seri Jamil Salleh yesterday. Present was Uniten Vice-Chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Kamal Nasharuddin Mustapha.
Zahrah said SSM and the ministry took illegal investment schemes seriously to prevent the crime from spreading.
She said to create awareness on the matter, SSM had launched awareness campaigns, such as the Scam Awareness Campaign or #scamalert2018.
“This campaign is part of SSM’s initiative to curb illegal investments from becoming widespread, and this includes umrah scams.
“We urge the public to be alert and lodge complaints to SSM if there are doubtful schemes offered to them by anyone.”
She said if investors were unsure, they should first check with authorities, such as Bank Negara Malaysia or the police.
She said only 205 investment schemes of various types were registered with SSM.
“Cases like these (scams) have a negative impact on the economy, resulting in loss of millions of ringgit.”
YPGO aims to increase awareness among the younger generation of the importance and advantages of registering their businesses, and to encourage more of them to be involved in business.
The two-day carnival, which began yesterday, has various activities, including an entrepreneurship seminar, online dialogue sessions with celebrities and entrepreneurs, exhibitions and student booths.