RM3.17b MBI scam linked to PN MP?

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RM3.17b MBI scam linked to PN MP?

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12, 2025: The Coverage has reposted a blog post titled Cops Seize RM3.17 Billion In Assets Allegedly Linked To Scammer Connected To Perikatan Nasional MP.

No News Is Bad News has nothing to add to the post and we also reproduce two related news stories by TheEdge.

News

Cops Seize RM3.17 Billion In Assets Allegedly Linked To Scammer Connected To Perikatan Nasional MP

12 April, 2025

Chinese President, Xi Jin Peng will be making a three day official visit of Malaysia next week April 15th to 17th. 

He was extended an invitation for the 50 year anniversary of Malaysia – China bilateral relation, however was represented instead by Prime Minister Li Qiang in June last year. 

The visit in the midst of Trump triggered trade war to isolate China will draw attention from the foreign media and the US. 

Certain quarter of Malaysians are getting cold feet and urge Anwar to reschedule the visit. Surprisingly its mostly Malaysian Chinese. And, there is certain segment of older generation Malays still stuck in the past to view China and DAP as communist. 

Leading to Xi’s, whether by design or coincident, there have been major arrests related to China’s most wanted scammer, Malaysian Tedy Teow of MBI fame. The victims of his billion ringgit scam have mostly been Chinese national. 

Police have seized and frozen assets worth more than RM3.17 billion linked to a Ponzi scheme, following a series of raids last month under an operation codenamed Op Northern Star, based on a Red Notice alert from Interpol.

Inspector-General of Police Razarudin Husain said the assets included illegal proceeds linked to a Ponzi-style investment scam known as “Pelaburan MBI”, which has a base in a neighbouring country.

He said the assets included 638 banking and share trading accounts containing over RM1.16 billion, 35 properties valued at over RM2 billion, 10 luxury vehicles, designer watches and handbags, jewellery, cash in multiple foreign currencies, as well as laptops and mobile phones.

Several important documents tied to the scam were also confiscated, Razarudin said.

He also said that seven men and one woman, all locals aged between 44 and 62, were arrested in the operation.

“The detainees included two businessmen and two lawyers, all four with the title ‘Datuk,” he added.

Razarudin said the suspects had been remanded for one to seven days for further investigation under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

Words are one of the businessmen is a corporate player with link to an opposition MP. 

Sources claimed he is a renown stock market manipulator and the phenomenon of share prices run-up upon disclosure of his interest in the company was described as an effect named after him. 

According to an unnamed former investigator, the opposition MP linked to the arrested corporate player cum market manipulator received kickback from Tedy Teow before. 

He was directly involve to arranged the release of few hundred millions of frozen MBI money prior to GE14.

There is the likelihood the stock manipulation was funded by Pelaburan MBI and the corporate player is a funder for the opposition leader. 

Spreading the eggs in various baskets.

Source : Thick Brick Blogspot

Ghost of MBI reawakens, police raids rattle Penang

By M Shanmugam and Rosalynn Poh / The Edge Malaysia

08 Apr 2025, 05:50 pm 

 

Now under receivership, the Penang Times Square mall was reportedly tied to the MBI scheme. (Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge)

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 31, 2025 - April 6, 2025

JUST when it seemed that the news flow around the now-defunct MBI pyramid scheme was quieting down, following the extradition of its mastermind Tedy Teow to China last August, a series of raids carried out over the weekend of March 21 sent shock waves through Penang’s property sector.

The operations were conducted by the Anti-Money Laundering Division from Bukit Aman, sources tell The Edge.

The Edge has learnt that at least two corporate lawyers in Penang have been questioned, with documents related to property and share transactions involving MBI seized from their homes and offices.

Additionally, several prominent figures from the corporate world in Kuala Lumpur and Penang have been summoned by the police.

It is learnt that two of the corporate figures hail from Kedah. Both individuals own equity stakes in public-listed entities on Bursa Malaysia. One of them holds a majority stake in three listed companies and a minority interest in eight other companies.

According to sources, among the seized materials are those involving the Bayan Mutiara development in Penang, where a company linked to MBI became the major shareholder in 2018.

To recap, in 2018, Hemat Tuah Sdn Bhd acquired a controlling stake in Tropicana Ivory Sdn Bhd, a joint venture (JV) formed by Ivory Properties Group Bhd (KL:IVORY) and Tropicana Corp Bhd (KL:TROP) (formerly known as Dijaya Corp Bhd) to develop Penang World City (PWC).

The massive RM10 billion project in Bayan Mutiara was initially awarded to Ivory Properties, led by Datuk Low Eng Hock, before the company formed the JV with Tropicana Corp. Hemat Tuah paid RM126.7 million to take over Tropicana Ivory — 55% from Tropicana Corp (RM70.7 million) and 45% from Ivory Properties (RM56 million).

Major shareholders of Hemat Tuah include Koh Teck Ong, Lim Ah Chay, Lio Chee Yeong, Tan Kim Hee and Teow Wooi Pin. Wooi Pin, the elder brother of Tedy, holds a 45% stake in Hemat Tuah. Tan, believed to be Tedy’s brother-in-law, owns 10%.

Earlier reports indicated that Mutiara Metropolis Sdn Bhd was the developer of PWC.

A company search reveals that Mutiara Metropolis, formerly known as Tropicana Ivory, is wholly owned by Hemat Tuah. In December last year, The Edge reported that another local developer had taken over the PWC project, with construction going on at the site.

Other documents believed to have been taken by the authorities during the raid included a subscription agreement between Sunrise Manner Sdn Bhd, Atta Global Group Bhd, Tang Tiam Hok and Wan Nyuk Ming. Tang is a director of Hemat Tuah, a filing with the Companies Commission of Malaysia shows.

It is said that MBI money was in two listed companies in 2019 — Atta Global Group (now known as Mayu Global Group Bhd [KL:MAYU]) and Heng Huat Resources Group Bhd (now known as HHRG Bhd [KL:HHRG]). Both companies are now under new management and controlling shareholders.

A search on AskEdge shows Kim Hee is a substantial shareholder of Mayu Global, holding an 11.09% stake. The company changed its name in 2023.

The spotlight was cast on HHRG in 2020 when its then executive chairman Ooi Chieng Sim was among eight men charged with drug trafficking. Other documents believed to have been seized during the recent raid included a share sale and purchase agreement between Heng Huat Industries Holdings Sdn Bhd and Arah Kawasan Sdn Bhd.

Ivory Properties’ Penang Times Square mall (also known as M Mall 020) was reportedly tied to the MBI scheme. The mall, which had MBI as its anchor tenant until the scheme’s collapse in 2018, is now under receivership and has become almost deserted.

In the glory days of MBI, its members from China would put up at hotels owned by MBI, including the Vouk Hotel, while some stayed in MBI’s Desaku housing project in Karangan, Kulim, Kedah.

Back then, MBI Desaku was a bustling site with shops selling Chinese products, and houses were available for sale to MBI members with the option of paying deposits using M-Coins. However, the project is now described as abandoned with empty shops and food courts. The landowner and developer is ECK Development Sdn Bhd, led by its CEO Tan Sri Khor Eng Chuen.

Kedah-based ECK Development became a lead partner in Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) after acquiring Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) in 2021. In 2013, CZBUCG was awarded the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel and associated road projects, beating other contenders, namely China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd & VST Cemerlang Sdn Bhd, Setia Precast Sdn Bhd, ECK Construction Sdn Bhd, Gamuda Bhd (KL:GAMUDA), Zambina Wawasan Sdn Bhd, IJM-CRGL Joint Ventures, Consortium Zenith BUCG Juteras & Sri Tinggi JV and WCTDaewoo Joint Ventures.

Consortium Zenith BUCG, a JV between Zenith Construction, China Railway Construction Corp Ltd, Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd, is overseeing the infrastructure project.

The massive infrastructure project includes building three highways to ease traffic congestion on Penang Island. They are a 4.2km bypass from Gurney Drive to Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, a 4.6km bypass from Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu to Bandar Baru Air Itam, and a 12km paired road from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.

A feasibility study that cost over RM300 million was conducted years back.

Recently, it was reported that the Penang government had approved a proposal to change the alignment of the third link, previously known as the undersea tunnel project. Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that the state exco had authorised the project contractor CZC to continue conducting feasibility studies for the revised alignment. (See also “Shareholder tussle in HHRG escalates

Police seize over RM3.17b in assets, arrest eight linked to MBI Ponzi scheme

By Emir Zainul / theedgemalaysia.com

11 Apr 2025, 04:56 pm 

The now-defunct pyramid scheme MBI was the anchor tenant of Penang Times Square, which is now vacant. (Photo by Sam Fong/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (April 11): The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) has seized and frozen assets valued at more than RM3.17 billion connected to a large-scale Ponzi scheme associated with the defunct MBI group. This follows a series of cross-border raids conducted last month under an operation codenamed “Op Northern Star”.

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed in a statement on Friday that the operation, which took place on March 20, was initiated based on a Red Notice alert issued by Interpol.

The crackdown, spearheaded by the Anti-Money Laundering Criminal Investigation Division (AMLA) of Bukit Aman, targeted assets believed to be proceeds from a fraudulent investment scheme centred around MBI, which had been operating from a neighbouring country.

The police statement confirms a report published by The Edge Malaysia weekly in its March 31–April 6, 2025 issue, citing sources, that AMLA had led a series of raids in March related to the long-running MBI pyramid scheme.

According to the statement, eight Malaysian nationals — seven men and one woman, aged between 44 and 62 — were apprehended during the operation. Among those arrested were two businessmen and two lawyers who hold the “Datuk” title.

All suspects have been remanded for periods ranging from one to seven days, to assist with investigations under Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Act 613).

The police confiscated a wide range of assets, including over 600 bank and share trading accounts holding more than RM1.16 billion, as well as 35 properties, with an estimated value of RM2.01 billion. Luxury items such as high-end vehicles, branded watches, designer handbags,  jewellery, and electronic devices were also seized, along with cash in various currencies and a significant amount of important documents.

The total estimated value of the seized assets and frozen accounts amounted to RM3.17 billion. “All assets and items seized are believed to be proceeds derived from illegal gains linked to the fraudulent investment activities,” said Razarudin.

“PDRM will continue investigations into any individual or entity suspected of being directly or indirectly involved in acquiring, receiving, possessing, concealing, transferring, converting, moving in or out, using, or disposing of illicit proceeds from this fraudulent investment activity,” he added.

According to The Edge’s report, the raids uncovered new links between the MBI scheme and high-profile individuals and corporate interests, including several property and share transactions involving listed companies.

Documents seized reportedly include those connected to the RM10 billion Penang World City (PWC) development at Bayan Mutiara, which was once associated with Hemat Tuah Sdn Bhd — a company linked to MBI and controlled by family members of MBI founder Tedy Teow.

Authorities are also said to have obtained documents related to investments in companies such as Mayu Global Group Bhd (KL:MAYU) — formerly Atta Global, and HHRG Bhd (KL:HHRG) — formerly Heng Huat Resources Group Bhd, both of which are now under different management and controlling shareholders.

The MBI saga, which was previously thought to be nearing its conclusion following the extradition of its mastermind Teow to China in August last year, appears to be far from over. These recent enforcement efforts have renewed scrutiny of local entities and individuals who may still be entangled in the web of one of Malaysia’s largest investment frauds.