A bank executive cheated of RM400,000 in a Facebook scam by a “charming Swedish man” led Selangor police into cracking open the state’s largest black money syndicate.
After receiving a report from the 51-year old victim, police raided a condominium in Jalan Ipoh where a black money “cleaning centre” was uncovered, replete with chemicals, processing machines, safes and counterfeit Pound Sterling, American Dollar and Singapore Dollar notes with a face value of RM30 million.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Shukri Dahlan told The Star Online, “We arrested a 54-year old Iranian man, believed to be the mastermind of the syndicate.”
The victim met the “Swede” on Facebook in March, and the pair met at a hotel in Mutiara Damansara where the suspected con artist introduced her to the black money scheme, in which scammers claim that vast amounts of cash have been dyed black to avoid detection by Customs. He had asked the victim to partner up with him and supply funds to buy the chemicals needed to wash the dye off the smuggled money.
Comm Shukri said the scammer convinced the victim by washing a few sample notes in front of her. “These revealed three US$100 bills,” he said.
“After that she was so convinced that it was real,” Comm Shukri said. “The man promised her that he could double her money and asked her to invest in his business.
“He promised to give her a portion of the foreign currency,” Comm Shukri said at a press conference yesterday.
“She borrowed RM100,000 from loan sharks, and others from her friends and family, and banked in RM400,000 over a period of time. When she did not hear from the man, she realised she had been cheated and lodged a report.”
When police raided the washing centre at 3pm Wednesday, Comm Shukri said there were 22 bags filled with fake currency.
