PUTRAJAYA, Feb 22 — Ten people including five British and two Philippine nationals have been arrested by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in connection with an investment scam syndicate which had cheated its victims of about A$60 million (about RM200 million), according to sources.

The sources said they were arrested in the ‘Op Tropicana’ operation yesterday when the MACC’s Anti-Money Laundering Division raided 24 locations in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The syndicate, led by its British masterminds, was said to have been operating since 2019 and was also involved in money-laundering activities and corruption.

The raided premises included three boiler rooms, two in Kuala Lumpur and one in Penang.

The suspects, aged between 39 and 59, had been remanded for six days on an order issued by Magistrate Mohd Dinie Shazwan Ab Shukor in Putrajaya today, the sources said.

The suspects, handcuffed and dressed in MACC’s orange lock-up attire, were taken to the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court at 2.23pm under escort by the Immigration Department’s Special Tactical Team (Pastak).

The scammers’ victims were said to be Australians and British nationals who had been deceived into making investments in non-existent schemes.

"The modus operandi of the syndicate was to look for victims through social media and telephone calls,” said a source.

The syndicate is also suspected to have bribed certain authorities to protect its members and facilitate the operation of its boiler rooms in the country. — Bernama