GEORGE TOWN: A man was sentenced to three months jail today for having over RM300,000 of fraudulently obtained funds in his bank account from an investment scheme purportedly linked to a Brunei sovereign wealth fund.
Lim Siong Aik, 44, pleaded guilty to 70 charges of having possession of the money he received earlier this year, held in a CIMB Bank account under his control, registered to ‘BIA 1983 Resources’.
BIA is usually used to refer to the Brunei Investment Agency, founded by the country’s ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in 1983. The agency had reportedly denied being linked to any investment scheme in Malaysia.
Reporters were barred from entering the courthouse to cover all cases today on instructions of the Penang court director, a security guard told the press corps present.
Deputy public prosecutor Yazid Mustaqim Roslan said Lim was sentenced to three months’ jail on each charge, to be served concurrently.
The charges were laid under the Minor Offences Act for fraudulent possession of property, which carries a fine not exceeding RM1,000 or a maximum of one year’s jail on conviction.
Lim will face 270 other charges on Aug 24, Yazid added.
He said the RM300,000 involved in today’s cases was in relation to the northeast district alone; the other charges are expected to deal with other parts of Penang.
In April, BIA issued a statement with a list of scams using its name in Malaysia, saying it was not involved in any investment schemes here.
Police have received over 100 reports related to the BIA investment scheme. Reports show that as of April, close to RM2 million has been lost to scammers.
Bukit Aman was reported as saying the scammers would contact victims on the investment scheme via social media platforms, offering RM120 short-term returns within 40 to 120 days. - FMT
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