Malaysian kidnapped in Manila killed despite RM330,000 ransom paid

 

Ramli Yoosuf said the RM330,000 ransom was paid through a cryptowallet app and police had identified six suspects involved in the funds transfer. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian who worked in Manila was killed despite the ransom being paid.

Bernama quoted Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department director Ramli Yoosuf as saying the RM330,000 ransom was paid through the USDT cryptowallet application.

He said the man was kidnapped on Oct 22 and the ransom was paid the next day.

However, the Philippine authorities received a report the same day that the body of the man was found in San Simon, Pampanga.

Ramli said the physical description and tattoo mark on the body matched that of the kidnapped victim.

On Nov 9, Malaysian police received a request from the Malawakil Manila attache’s office to assist in analysing the cryptowallet transaction of a suspect involved in the case.

Ramli said investigations showed the funds had been transferred to a currency exchange that was not registered in Malaysia.

“Information received from the exchange revealed the identity of six suspects (all foreigners). We believe they can assist in investigations into the kidnap and murder.

“All information was handed over to the Malawakil Manila attache’s office for further investigations,“ he said.

On another matter, Ramli said 10 police reports were received in connection with forex investments involving RM4.7 million since Nov 1.

Initial investigations showed the website involved in the investment was operated from abroad.

“The investors were promised lucrative returns and monthly dividends of 5%. The victims communicated with the suspect via the Zoom application,’’ he said.

Ramli said the investments, ranging from RM437,253 to RM864,300, were sent through the Huobi application, using a cryptocurrency exchange. - FMT