According to the authorities in Kuala Lumpur, scam syndicates were able to collect almost RM12mil in the past year by enticing their victims with “Islamic and syariah-compliant” investment schemes. These schemes promised extremely high returns, including rates as high as 50 times an individual’s investment value and even pledged to pay out returns within three hours of receiving an investment.
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These audacious syndicates utilized images of politicians, religious figures, and celebrities in their promotions to persuade investors to participate. The Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) of Bukit Aman has cautioned that it will not tolerate the exploitation of religious sentiments to deceive victims through such deceitful techniques and will utilize all lawful means to put an end to these practices.
The Director of CCID, Comm Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, reported that they opened 284 investigation papers regarding syndicates using Islamic and Syariah compliant schemes last year, resulting in losses of RM11.66mil. He expressed concern that these advertisements also featured the images of various public figures without their consent, including politicians, religious leaders, celebrities, business executives, and social media influencers.
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Investigations revealed that these individuals were not involved in the schemes and did not authorize the use of their images. Several of these public figures have filed police reports claiming that their pictures were misused in promoting these scams.
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Comm Ramli added that, from their investigations, only local individuals were found to be using religious tactics to deceive victims. He mentioned that these syndicates primarily target Muslim victims by using phrases like ‘Islamic’ and syariah-compliant to cover up their true intentions, which is to defraud individuals of their savings.
Furthermore, Comm Ramli stated that last year, 95 investigations were opened regarding Umrah or pilgrimage scams, leading to the arrest of 20 individuals. These scams resulted in losses of over RM4.99mil and they also misused images of religious figures in their promotional materials.
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According to Comm Ramli’s recent statement, the announcement made by the Saudi Arabian government regarding the use of tourist visas for pilgrimage purposes by Islamic countries, including Malaysia, has posed challenges in investigating such Umrah scams. Fraud syndicates are exploiting this opportunity through ‘Do-it-Yourself Umrah’. In response, JSJK has urged individuals, especially those planning to perform Umrah, to be cautious and not easily swayed by too-good-to-be-true offers.
