KUALA LUMPUR: A company director was allegedly cheated of RM1.2 million by an acquaintance, who allegedly used the money to invest in a fixed deposit scam known as "sharebooster".
Johor police chief Commissioner M. Kumar said the suspect, who worked at a local financial institution and was known to the victim, allegedly convinced the victim to join a fixed deposit scheme, which he claimed was managed by the financial institution.
"The suspect promised the victim that the scheme could provide higher returns compared with other financial institutions.
"The victim then handed over cheques for RM1.8 million as payment to the suspect," he said in a statement today.
He said the victim only realised he had been scammed when he contacted the suspect to withdraw the interest gained from the fixed deposit, which the latter gave various excuses to avoid doing so.
Upon checking, the victim found that only a small portion of his payment was deposited into his real investment account with the financial institution.
"Checks revealed that funds from several cheques made to the suspect were not credited to the victim's account, but instead, to accounts of unknown individuals," said Kumar.
The case is being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating and Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust.
Police also advised the public to be cautious before participating in any savings plan or buying investment products offered by any individual or company through a financial institution.
"Contact the relevant financial institution to verify the authenticity and existence of any plan or product before making any payment," he said.
