Police hunt for RM2.3m fraud suspect as national anti-scam hotline goes 24/7
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Rusdi Mohd Isa said the suspect, identified as Mohd Ezman Zamani, 39, was last seen in Rawang, Selangor. Efforts are underway to locate him to assist in investigations under Section 420 of the Penal Code for fraud.
He said a total of 279 police reports related to the case have been lodged with the department since 2023. Initial investigations found that the suspect had no prior criminal record, which allowed him to travel abroad freely before he was believed to have returned to Malaysia.
'Based on our investigation, victims were lured into the investment scheme after attending webinars organised by the company involved. They were promised dividend returns of up to 18 per cent per annum, or 1.5 per cent monthly, for each investment,' he said.
'At the beginning, investors did receive the promised returns. However, over time, various excuses were given, and the payments eventually stopped,' he told reporters during a press conference at Menara KPJ here today.
He urged members of the public who have information about the suspect or his whereabouts to contact the investigating officers – ASP Mohd Fikri Najib Ismail at 013-983 9854 or Insp Noor Azamin Noor Azahari at 011-6558 0848.
Commenting on the role of the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC), Rusdi said the 997 hotline now operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, an upgrade from its previous operating hours of 8am to 8pm.
'Since switching to 24-hour operations up to August 3, the NSRC has received 10,038 calls – 7,254 during the day and 2,514 at night – averaging 358 calls per day. Of these, 51 per cent were fraud-related reports, while the rest were general inquiries or other types of complaints,' he said.
Rusdi added that total financial losses reported from January to July this year amounted to RM193 million. Of that amount, only RM12 million was successfully frozen, thanks to cooperation between the police and financial institutions through Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
'The remainder is believed to have been laundered through the layering process and transferred elsewhere. The frozen funds will be seized under legal provisions such as Section 116D of the Penal Code and returned to the victims, subject to investigation outcomes and regulations,' he explained.
He added that the Semak Mule portal, which allows the public to verify bank accounts, phone numbers, and companies linked to scams, has recorded 35,828,901 searches since its launch on Jan 1, 2015. So far, 272,250 bank accounts, 216,242 phone numbers, and 14,160 companies have been blacklisted.
'We also encourage the public to practise a 'cooling-off period' – taking a few days before committing to large payments or follow-up investments. The CCID has also recommended that BNM consider extending this cooling-off period in appropriate cases to protect consumers better,' he said. — Bernama
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
25 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Robust exports to support trade outlook
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's trade prospects for 2025 remain supported by robust exports, after bouncing back to growth in July with the highest monthly value ever, economists said. But they warn that the outlook for next year will likely be riddled with headwinds as the full impact of the 19 per cent tariff imposed by the US sets in. Malaysia's trade hit a record high of RM265.92 billion in July, up 3.8 per cent from RM234.85 billion a year earlier, supported by stronger exports that reached their highest level in nearly three years. Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry said exports rose 6.8 per cent to RM140.45 billion, the strongest monthly performance since September 2022, reflecting sustained global demand for Malaysian goods. "Imports edged up by 0.6 per cent to RM125.47 billion, while trade surplus continued for the 63rd consecutive month, valued at RM14.98 billion for July 2025," it said in a statement. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said exports to the United States have been "commendable", growing more than 20 per cent in the first seven months of this year. This goes to show that front-loading activities among the US importers have been growing at a healthy clip and such trends are quite similar to the regional economies, he added. "In some sense, this should alleviate concern on the overall growth performance for 2025. Therefore, 2026 would be much more critical as the impact of the full 19 per cent tariff rate will be felt more visibly," he told Business Times. Meanwhile, economist Dr Geoffrey Williams said while the export and total trade figures are part of a continuing improvement in overall trade, the net trade figures are the indicator to watch. He noted that the current account surplus sank to just RM0.3 billion, or 0.1 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), in the second quarter of 2025. In June 2025, Malaysia had a trade surplus of RM8.6 billion which was an increase from the RM0.8 billion surplus in May. "So the July figure is more positive, which is almost double the month before. Nonetheless the trade surplus is very volatile and has been on a general downwards trend since August 2023," he said. Williams expects continued global headwinds which will affect net trade volatility in the coming months and will reduce the contribution of net trade to GDP growth. "Already (Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said this week that the US tariff issue will cut 0.6-1.2 per cent off GDP, so on average this is a loss of RM20 billion," he said. Elaborating on the trade performance, the ministry said exports of electrical and electronic (E&E) products jumped by nearly RM12 billion to RM63.31 billion, a 22.5 per cent year-on-year increase. For the January-July 2025 period, total trade rose 4.7 per cent year-on-year to RM1.731 trillion, with exports expanding 4.3 per cent to RM900.47 billion and imports increasing 5.1 per cent to RM830.16 billion. This resulted in a trade surplus of RM70.32 billion, the highest cumulative value to date. The ministry said Malaysia's trade performance in the first seven months of 2025 reflected a cautiously improving global trade outlook. The US decision to cut reciprocal tariffs on Malaysian exports to 19 per cent from 25 per cent underscored the country's disciplined trade diplomacy, it added. "This tariff rate, which is roughly in line with the rest of our peers in Asean, will continue to support our competitiveness. "Despite global trade and US tariff headwinds, Malaysia's steady trade performance has contributed to the expansion of the nation's gross domestic product by 4.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2025."
Borneo Post
25 minutes ago
- Borneo Post
ASP Leonard Langking takes over as new Sibu CCID chief
Logenthiran (left) symbolically hands over his duties to Leonard, witnessed by Zulkipli (second right). SIBU (Aug 20): The Sibu District Police Headquarters on Monday witnessed the handover of duties for the post of Commercial Crime Investigation Division (CCID) chief between ASP Logenthiran Subramniam and his successor ASP Leonard Langking. The ceremony was witnessed by Sibu police chief ACP Zulkipli Suhaili and attended by division heads, station chiefs, and senior officers. Logenthiran will be taking up a new post at the International Cooperation Unit under the Commercial Crime Investigation Department in Bukit Aman. Reflecting on his tenure, Logenthiran expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve in Sarawak and praised the performance of the Sibu CCID. 'Over the years I've served in Sarawak, I am proud to say that Sibu CCID recorded the best KPI (Key Performance Indicator) in arresting and charging suspects in court from 2020 until today. 'That would not have been possible without the solid support of my team and especially from my OCPD, ACP Zulkipli ' he said. handover lead Leonard Langking police
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
1,000 Madani parks planned for greener Malaysia
Sustainability first: (From left) Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) Malaysia president Datuk Ho Hon Sang, Green Real Estate (GreenRE) chairman Datuk Seri FD Iskandar, Nga and Rehda Institute chairman Datuk Jeffrey Ng Tiong Lip posing for a photo during the opening ceremony of IGBC 2025. PETALING JAYA: Some 1,000 Madani recreational parks will be created across the country over the next decade as part of efforts to promote sustainable urban living and development. Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, who disclosed this, said a safely decommissioned landfill in Bandar Tenggara, Johor, was transformed into a public park recently. 'This milestone not only helps mitigate environmental pollution and eliminate odour issues, it also provides the community with much-needed green spaces for recreation, leisure and social activities. 'Such green elements serve as vital nature-based solutions to urban challenges. This includes mitigating flash floods and reducing the urban heat island effect, making our cities more liveable and resilient,' he said in his keynote address at the International Green Build Conference (IGBC) 2025 here yesterday. Nga said the government was seeking US$20mil (RM84mil) from the Global Climate Adaptation Fund to help scale up climate-resilient, nature-based solutions in Kuala Lumpur after previously securing US$10mil from the fund for similar projects in Penang. He said at least 20% of garbage trucks operating in the country would comprise electric vehicles by 2027 as part of the ministry's public cleansing reforms. This change would be introduced for all states currently implementing the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007, he added. 'We will also introduce night-time cleaning services so as not to disrupt traffic flow and to better suit our country's climate. 'Comprehensive cleaning using water jets at strategic locations will also be implemented ahead of Visit Malaysia Year 2026,' he said.
