Latest news with #MuhammadHasbullah
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Bukit Aman nabs two over KLIA Haj scam, denies detaining stranded pilgrims
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Federal police said today that two individuals were arrested for allegedly masterminding a Haj pilgrimage scam that saw several pilgrims stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department acting director Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali also refuted a news article claiming the detention of the aforementioned pilgrim group for using tourist visas to enter Mecca on June 2. 'In the incident which took place, 'Op Haji Terkandas' personnel detected the presence of a pilgrim group at KLIA waiting for someone with the title 'Datuk'. 'This individual was believed to be responsible for handing over their relevant visas for the pilgrimage. However, those visas were never obtained,' he said in a statement here. Subsequently, a couple that had surrendered their passports to two individuals offering free Haj packages lodged a report. This was after their promised flight to Mecca on June 1 failed to materialise and the travel agency did not provide any other flight confirmation as of June 3. The complainants also told the police they were worried their personal details and passports would be misused. 'A total of seven reports have been linked to this agency. No monetary losses were reported as the packages were offered without charge,' he said. Muhammad Hasbullah said the suspects detained were aged 36 and 39.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Bukit Aman nabs two over KLIA Haj scam, denies detaining stranded pilgrims
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Federal police said today that two individuals were arrested for allegedly masterminding a Haj pilgrimage scam that saw several pilgrims stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department acting director Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali also refuted a news article claiming the detention of the aforementioned pilgrim group for using tourist visas to enter Mecca on June 2. 'In the incident which took place, 'Op Haji Terkandas' personnel detected the presence of a pilgrim group at KLIA waiting for someone with the title 'Datuk'. 'This individual was believed to be responsible for handing over their relevant visas for the pilgrimage. However, those visas were never obtained,' he said in a statement here. Subsequently, a couple that had surrendered their passports to two individuals offering free Haj packages lodged a report. This was after their promised flight to Mecca on June 1 failed to materialise and the travel agency did not provide any other flight confirmation as of June 3. The complainants also told the police they were worried their personal details and passports would be misused. 'A total of seven reports have been linked to this agency. No monetary losses were reported as the packages were offered without charge,' he said. Muhammad Hasbullah said the suspects detained were aged 36 and 39.
The Star
01-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Third Tan Sri nabbed in MBI probe, say cops
KUALA LUMPUR: Another Tan Sri has been nabbed over his alleged involvement in the MBI investment scam. Sources said the 53-year-old man was detained at about 2am on Thursday (May 1) in Penang after he returned from overseas. Sources said the suspect is believed to be a proxy for the syndicate. "He is also a business partner of some of the suspects and received profits from the investment scam for money laundering purposes," sources said. Meanwhile, the IGP secretariat's Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) division head Comm Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali confirmed the arrest under Ops Northern Star. ALSO READ: Cops nab another 'Tan Sri' over MBI investment scam "However, we have not seized any belongings so far. We are still investigating the case further," he said. Previously, it was reported that a 'Tan Sri' and a 'Datuk Seri' were the latest arrests under Ops Northern Star, which has now seen RM3.5bil in assets including a hotel and durian plantations linked to the MBI investment scheme being seized. Comm Muhammad Hasbullah had said the 'Tan Sri' and 'Datuk Seri' were among five caught during the second round of arrests between April 18 and 21. This brings the number of suspects arrested to 13, with eight previously caught between March 21 and April 5. ALSO READ: Datuks held over MBI scam 'They (the latest arrested) have been remanded for between five and six days to assist investigations,' Comm Muhammad Hasbullah told a press conference at the division's headquarters here on Wednesday (April 30). Among the assets seized this round were durian plantations in Pahang, Penang and Kedah worth RM223,624,167.75. An additional 299 bank accounts with RM123,614,594.35 were also frozen, he said. All these assets were believed to have been purchased or had links to the proceeds from the scheme's illegal gains. Investigations showed that the 'Tan Sri', a businessman, had been acting as both partner to the investment scam and a proxy to the victims. ALSO READ: More arrests expected in MBI scheme crackdown As of now, no other influential figures such as politicians are on the police's radar and others who were being pursued are businessmen, said Comm Muhammad Hasbullah. Previously, the police arrested another 'Tan Sri' and further checks showed that he had no direct links to the scam, but he had actually attempted to swindle one of the suspects. Investigations showed that the 'Tan Sri' had offered to make the suspect's case 'go away' for RM25mil. 'The suspect had paid RM10mil as a deposit,' said Comm Muhammad Hasbullah, adding that the suspect told the police of the deal when he was arrested. The 'Tan Sri' was later picked up following the suspect's police report.
The Star
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Another ‘Tan Sri' nabbed
KUALA LUMPUR: Another 'Tan Sri' and a 'Datuk Seri' are the latest arrests under Ops Northern Star, which has now seen RM3.5bil in assets including a hotel and durian plantations linked to the MBI investment scheme being seized. IGP secretariat's Anti-Money Laundering (AMLA) division head Comm Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali said the 'Tan Sri' and 'Datuk Seri' were among five caught during the second round of arrests between April 18 and April 21. This brings the number of suspects arrested to 13, with eight previously caught between March 21 and April 5. 'They (the latest arrested) have been remanded for between five and six days to assist investigations,' Comm Muhammad Hasbullah told a press conference at the division's headquarters here yesterday. Among the assets seized this round were durian plantations in Pahang, Penang and Kedah worth RM223,624,167.75. An additional 299 bank accounts with RM123,614,594.35 were also frozen, he said. All these assets were believed to have been purchased or had links to the proceeds from the scheme's illegal gains. Investigations showed that the 'Tan Sri', a businessman, had been acting as both partner to the investment scam and a proxy to the victims. As of now, no other 'influential figures' such as politicians are on the police's radar and others who were being pursued are businessmen, said Comm Muhammad Hasbullah. Previously, the police arrested another 'Tan Sri' and further checks showed that he had no direct links to the scam, but he had actually attempted to swindle one of the suspects. Investigations showed that the 'Tan Sri' had offered to make the suspect's case 'go away' for RM25mill. 'The suspect had paid RM10mill as a deposit,' said Comm Muhammad Hasbullah, adding that the suspect told the police of the deal when he was arrested. The 'Tan Sri' was later picked up following the suspect's police report. Comm Muhammad Hasbullah explained that the MBI investment scheme scam had been investigated for around eight years, but only six police reports had been lodged in Malaysia. Several reports had been retracted by the complainants. 'From what we have received from the Interpol Red Notice, there were around 11 million victims from neighboring countries,' he said. He also said it is possible that more assets would be seized as investigations continue. 'We believe the total could go up to several more billions.' To date, the seizures in Ops Northern have totalled RM3.5bil, among which are a hotel, a developer's office and a palm oil factory. On April 11, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said eight suspects, including those with the title of 'Datuk', had been arrested as part of investigations into the MBI investment scam. Last year, fugitive businessman and founder of MBI, Penang-born Tedy Teow, was extradited to China from Thailand to assist in investigations there on scammed Chinese nationals. Investors claimed that some two million in China had been cheated by Teow involving a sum of 500 billion yuan (RM307bil). Some of the investors flew to Malaysia to search for Teow in 2019 in a bid to recover their investments into MBI's online pyramid scheme. Through Interpol, the Chinese police sought to arrest Teow by issuing a red notice on Nov 9, 2020. Teow operated a hotel, theme park, furniture business, property development and entertainment complexes, including a resort in Danok near the Thailand-Malaysia border. He also built a sprawling business empire from dubious online investment schemes that attracted investors from China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Macau. Thai police arrested Teow on July 21, 2022, for allegedly operating an online casino and money laundering operation after raiding MBI's office in Songkhla.
The Star
22-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
Cops nab another 'Tan Sri' over MBI investment scam
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have arrested another individual with a "Tan Sri" title over its probe into the MBI investment scam The IGP secretariat's anti-money laundering division head Comm Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali said the Tan Sri was among five suspects nabbed in a second round of arrests from April 18 to 21. Among the five was another with a "Datuk Seri" title. "They have been remanded between five to six days to assist investigations. "Among the assets seized this round include durian plantations in Pahang, Penang and Kedah worth RM223,624,167.75. An additional 299 bank accounts worth RM123,614,594.35 were also frozen," he said, adding the assets seized are believed to have been purchased with or linked to the scheme's illegal gains. "From the outside, the land purchase looked proper but it was purchased using illegal money," he said. Investigations showed that the Tan Sri, a businessman, acted as a proxy for the scammers to the victims. Comm Muhammad Hasbullah said no other influential figures were on their radar and most suspects were businessmen. He added only six police reports had been lodged nationwide and that police have been investigating the case for seven to eight years. "From the Interpol Red Notice, there were around 11 million victims from neighbouring countries. On April 11, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said that eight suspects including those with Datuk titles had been arrested over the MBI investment scam. Around RM3bill in assets, including hundreds of bank and shared accounts as well as property were seized in the first round of arrests. Comm Muhammad Hasbullah said the first "Tan Sri" arrested was not directly involved in the syndicate but had duped a suspect into paying money to avoid being arrested. "The deal was originally for RM25mill and the suspect paid RM10mill as deposit. "When he was arrested he told police that he had paid money," he said, adding that the suspect then made a police report. "We arrested that 'Tan Sri' and the money paid was also recovered," he said.
