‘Datuk Seri’, three ‘Datuks’ held over investment scam

KUALA LUMPUR: The police have arrested six people, among them a Datuk Seri and three Datuks, for alleged involvement in a gold and oil bunkering investment scheme that has left investors poorer by RM27.5 million.

The arrests were made in Kuala Lumpur and Penang on Jan 26, said Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh.

He said the suspects, aged between 42 and 62, were arrested after police received 193 reports throughout the country about the scam between October 2015 and December 2017.

“The suspects consist of the company directors and organisers of the scheme whereby the syndicate conducted its operations by offering two major investments, namely gold bars and oil trading with lucrative returns for a period of nine months.

“For the gold bars investment scheme, investors were promised a return of two per cent per month while for the oil bunkering scheme, they were promised a return of 15 per cent every month, also for a period of nine months,” he said at a press conference at Bukit Aman.

Amar Singh said the suspects had claimed that they had close ties with royalty and dignitaries so as to raise the confidence of the potential investors.

He said that in their raids, the police seized eight luxury vehicles of the suspects, eight mobile phones, three ATM cards, four gold wafers, three branded watches, five cheque books and RM200,000 in cash.