Bank Negara red-flags another two money schemes

With the inclusion of the two investment schemes run by a company with international investors, there are now 302 firms in Bank Negara’s financial consumer alert list.

KUALA LUMPUR: Another two popular financial schemes – run by MBI International Sdn Bhd and Mface International Sdn Bhd – have been red-flagged by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

According to a report in The Star, both are subsidiaries of MBI Group International, a company with investors worldwide, many of them in China.

BNM has so far named 302 companies in its financial consumer alert list. It suspects them of not adhering to laws and regulations administered by BNM.

MBI International chairman Tedy Teow’s special assistant, known as Alfa, told Sin Chew Daily that he did not think the company would face any problem.

Alfa was quoted as saying it was not necessary to hold a press conference to explain the situation to its investors as the company was always “doing its work” and its investors could see how it was performing.

The Star report quoted an investor named H L Teoh as saying that he invested RM22,500 early this year and was given 10,000 game redemption credits.

“Actually, I can start selling it every six months, but I was advised to wait for it to grow bigger in three years. When you have lots of credit, it is like having a lot of virtual shares. Now, I will have to wait for further instructions from the company before my next course of action,” he was quoted as saying.

The Star report said members were allowed to spend their loyalty points, converted from virtual money or coins, in exchange for goods and services at affiliated companies, including a supermarket, restaurants, a gym and even a durian stall.

Meanwhile, a press conference called by a branch representative of the collapsed JJPTR scheme was cancelled at the last minute, without any reason being given, it said.

Johnson Lee, the founder of JJPTR, has been detained by police following investigations into his money scheme. He had claimed that the company had lost US$400 million (RM1.738 billion) due to a purported “hacking job”. -FMT