Probe on tontine scams
KUALA LUMPUR: Four companies cheated about 200,000 people of some RM100mil in tontine schemes. The Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) was investigating the four companies, said Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“Three directors of a company have been charged with cheating 80,000 people of RM22.4mil since last year,” said Ismail Sabri after meeting with the task force committee fighting white collar crime at the SSM headquarters in KL Sentral here yesterday. He added that the ministry was also investigating three other companies operating in the northern states and believed to have cheated 120,000 people. The minister said the companies claimed that they practised Taawon scheme (helping one another in Arab) and smart kootu scheme, both of which are illegal.
The task force committee was established on March 9 and included representatives from Bank Negara, the Securities Commission and Bursa Malaysia. Ismail Sabri said SSM would also look into using the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 (Amla) to further exercise the law on such culprits. We found owners of such companies escaped overseas after making their profit, and they are known to have made purchases of properties and luxury cars. “With Amla, we will be able to freeze their accounts and assets,” he added.
source >> the star.
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