13-05-2025
Group urges SC to probe alleged fake Shariah-compliant investment scheme duping over 230 investors
KUALA LUMPUR, May 13 — Civil group Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) has today urged the Securities Commission (SC) to open an investigation into an allegedly fraudulent Shariah-compliant investment scheme.
Its secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim claimed that the scheme called Islamic Redeemable Preference Shares (IRPS) has caused losses of approximately RM80 million to 232 investors.
'We strongly urge the SC to open an investigation and refer it to the Attorney-General's Chambers for possible prosecution against the masterminds and perpetrators responsible for the losses suffered by these victims,' he told a press conference after delivering the relevant documents to the SC here.
He said the allegedly fraudulent companies employed marketing agents to promote and market an investment labelled as Shariah-compliant, and had even obtained compliance certificates and submitted an information memorandum (IM) to the SC.
'This is where the confusion lies, investors mistakenly believed that the investment had been approved by the SC and it is important to clarify that there is a difference between submitting an IM and having a prospectus approved,' he added.
He also said the IM process only applies to sophisticated investors, who are defined as professional investors with at least RM250,000 to invest and net assets of at least RM3 million.
However, he said many of the investors who lodged complaints were not sophisticated investors.
He also said urged for an investigation into the allegedly involvement of a director in one of the companies offering the IRPS scheme, whom he said is a Shariah adviser recognised by the SC.
He said the association may have influenced many to invest, believing the scheme was legitimate.
Last week, the SC charged a 44-year-old man at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for defrauding five investors of over RM3.1 million by falsely representing that he would invest their monies in a fictitious scheme called 'Amal Trust,' which purportedly offered Shariah-compliant bonds with high returns.
He also faced two additional charges for unlicensed capital market activities and was granted RM500,000 bail with conditions, including surrendering his passport and reporting to the SC monthly.
