KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Ten people, including a bank manager, believed to be involved in fraudulent withdrawals of RM24.2 million from fixed deposit accounts of bank account holders, will be charged in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf during a press conference today said nine suspects would be charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code for being a member of an organised crime group and one other under the National Registration Regulations 1990.
Ramli said the 10 suspects who were detained under Section 4(5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) will be charged as police investigations uncovered evidence of organised crime.
“This is the first time court action is being taken under provisions of Sosma for an offence involving commercial crime.
“On July 22, the deputy public prosecutor had given instructions to charge nine suspects under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code and one under the National Registration Regulations 1990,” he said.
Ramli said the syndicate started planning the “heist” at the end of 2023, and activated their plan from March to June.
“The syndicate meticulously planned and carried out the activity of siphoning off money from fixed deposit accounts, including using fake MyKad to carry out transactions and manipulating fingerprint scanners used by banks for verification purposes,” he said.
Last month, the media reported police had arrested a bank employee suspected of being involved in the fraudulent withdrawals of fixed deposits amounting to RM24.2 million from four accounts.
The suspect was later identified as a 38-year-old woman, and was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
The arrest was made after police received four reports from account holders and bank staff in early June in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, when victims noticed suspicious cash withdrawals made from Kota Kinabalu at their fixed deposit accounts.
He said all account holders involved denied any knowledge of the transactions and said they had never been to Kota Kinabalu to make the withdrawals.
Police later detained 14 suspects, including bank officers and a businessman with the title “Datuk” after raids in Perlis and Sabah.
— Bernama
