Cops nab man believed to be mule account holder in RM1.9 million fraud case

BALIK PULAU - Police have arrested a man suspected of being a mule account holder for a Macau Scam syndicate which resulted in a retired woman losing RM1.9 million recently.

According to a Barat Daya district police headquarters statement, the 31-year-old man was arrested yesterday to assist in investigations into the fraud case involving the 67-year-old victim.

"Based on preliminary investigations, the man is believed to be a Macau Scam syndicate’s mule account holder who posed as a Health Ministry (KKM) staff and police personnel.

"The syndicate had duped the woman into believing that she had made a false statement regarding COVID-19 before she was connected to the ‘police personnel’ from the Sabah Police Headquarters,” the statement added.

It said the victim, afraid of being arrested by the authorities, complied with the syndicate’s instructions and made 24 cash transfers, totalling RM1.9 million, into several bank accounts provided to her.

In a separate case, the statement said police also arrested a 19-year-old girl suspected of being a mule account holder for a non-existent loan syndicate advertised through the Google search engine.

It said the victim, a 21-year-old man who worked as a clerk, had made 16 cash transactions totalling RM14,840.

Both suspects have been remanded and the cases are being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code.

"We wish to remind the public to always be wary and not to easily fall for these types of tricks by such syndicates on social media, be it non-existent loans, foreign job offers or such,” the statement added.

Police also advised the public to check first before making any transactions to any bank accounts given through the link https://ccid.rmp.gov.my/semakmule or download the ‘Semak Mule’ application on Google Play Store. - BERNAMA