Syndicate cheats lawyer of RM2.6 miilion

A senior Sabah lawyer lost his money after the syndicate claimed he was being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

KUALA LUMPUR:  A senior lawyer from Tawau lost more than RM2.6 million to a syndicate which claimed the lawyer was being investigated under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) 2001.

The victim in his late 40′s is a “Datuk” and had credited the money in six accounts as part of his efforts to stop the authorities from freezing his accounts and probing further into his financial transactions.

The victim only decided to check with the police and other enforcement agencies after a middleman who claimed he can help  him demanded for more money.

Acting on a report from the lawyer, police narrowed their investigation to six account holders in Kluang and Batu Pahat.

A police officer said out of six addresses stated in the accounts, only one address existed but the account holder was not staying at the address.

“We are looking into the possibility of forged documents being used in opening the accounts,” added the officer.

The officer said several syndicates which had been active since early last year succeeded in misleading hundreds of people by tampering with the phone network system of enforcement agencies.

Some cases even included deputy public prosecutors, added the police source.

A senior deputy public prosecuting (DPP) officer told FMT that his office or police officers very rarely contact individuals or companies being investigated under the Act.

He said that in most cases, notice will be served under Section 44 of the Act to the respective banks to freeze the accounts, pending investigation.

“No phone calls are involved and if we need to investigate further of any illegal transactions, we will serve further notices to them on the time and place for an interview to record their statements,” clarified the DPP.