Fake Crypto Investment Call Centre Busted, 22 Chinese Nationals Arrested

IPOH , April 9 (Bernama) -- Police busted a crypto investment scam syndicate targeting European victims in a raid on a homestay in Bagan Datuk on Tuesday morning.

Perak police chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin said the raid, conducted at about 1 am, involved personnel from the Commercial Crime Investigation Division of the Bagan Datuk District Police Headquarters and the Perak Commercial Crime Investigation Department (IPK), acting on intelligence and a tip-off.

“The operation led to the arrest of 22 Chinese nationals, comprising 19 men and three women aged between 22 and 40, believed to be involved in a non-existent crypto investment scheme.

“Initial investigations found that the homestay was being used as a call centre by the syndicate, which had been actively offering non-existent crypto investment schemes via online platforms since February,” he said at a press conference at the Perak IPK here today.

Noor Hisam said investigations also revealed that the syndicate operated through a platform known as Pyxora Labs, targeting victims in Italy.

He said the syndicate used WhatsApp and Telegram to communicate with victims before luring them into the fake investment scheme.

“The victims were then instructed to make payments using USDT cryptocurrency via applications or websites controlled by the syndicate,” he said.

Noor Hisam said police also seized various equipment believed to have been used by the syndicate during the raid, including 35 mobile phones, nine laptops, two routers, two modems and two wire connectors, with an estimated total value of RM95,000.

“All suspects have been remanded for four days, from April 7 to 10, to facilitate further investigations,” he said, adding that initial findings showed no local involvement in the syndicate.

Noor Hisam said all the suspects had valid passports, but the police were working with the Malaysian Immigration Department to trace their entry into Malaysia and to examine possible links to other syndicates.

He added that the case was being investigated under Section 420 and Section 120(b) of the Penal Code.

--BERNAMA