KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — Two Malaysians and a Singaporean were charged in the Singapore and Brunei courts for operating fraudulent trading and illegal deposit-taking, said Bank Negara Malaysia.
On July 30, a District Court in Singapore sentenced Singaporean Phang Wah and Malaysian Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, both of Sunshine Empire, to nine years and seven years’ jail, respectively, for running a fraudulent investment scheme.
They were convicted for fraudulent trading under Section 340 of the Singapore Companies Act and Criminal Breach of Trust under Section 409 of the Singapore Penal Code, the central bank said in a statement today.
On June 3, Sunshine Empire was fined RM2 million after it pleaded guilty at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court to two charges under Section 25(1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 for accepting deposits from the public without a valid licence.
In another case, a Malaysian, Hasri Mohd Noor, who is a director of Business Time Dina Sdn Bhd, a company related to Pan Phoenix Dina Sdn Bhd, was sentenced to six years’ jail by the Brunei High Court on Aug 7 for illegal deposit-taking under Section 93 (1) of the Banking Order 2006.
Hasri is currently being prosecuted in Malaysia for possible offences under Section 25(1) of the Banking and Financial Institutions Act 1989 and under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001.
Bank Negara reminded the people not to place any money or deposits with unlicensed institutions or be involved in any form of get-rich-quick schemes to avoid losing their hard-earned money.
It said the list of licensed institutions administered by the central bank to accept deposits was available on its website at www.bnm.gov.my.
It said the people could also access information on illegal financial schemes and enforcement actions taken by the central bank by logging on to the Financial Fraud Alert Site, http://fraudalert.bnm.gov.my.
For further enquiries and information, the public can contact Bank Negara Malaysia at 1-300-88-5465. — Bernama
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