IPOH, Oct 7 — A sexagenarian in Tanjung Malim claimed to have lost RM717,050, after being tricked into investing in a non-existent crypto investment since May.

Perak police chief Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri said the victim, a retired security guard, 67, lodged a police report today after realising he had been deceived.

"The victim saw a cryptocurrency investment advertisement on Facebook, under Yomaex Crypto Market Ltd, on May 22, and contacted the company’s agent, who claimed to be based in Paris.

"The victim expressed an interest in investing, and needed to download an application for investment purposes,” he said in a statement tonight.

Mohd Yusri said that the victim then transferred RM8,000 into the account provided for the activation of the e-wallet, and also the initial capital on July 13.

"At the beginning of the investment, the victim saw US$14,985 credited into his e-wallet account.

"This boosted the victim’s confidence, and he added more capital, involving 17 transactions to 10 different bank accounts, and was told that he had to wait for two months for the maturity period.

"On Oct 5, the victim saw that the money in the investment website’s e-wallet had increased to US$1.5 million, but the victim failed to transfer the money to his account,” he said.

The victim was then asked to deposit RM300,000, purportedly as money transfer tax, but did not do so.

He added that the victim found that his e-wallet account was empty, and the investment application could no longer be accessed, as it was allegedly blocked by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).

However, according to Mohd Yusri, after the victim checked with BNM and the Malaysian Securities Commission, he learned that the investment was not registered with BNM.

He said that the case was being investigated under Section 420 of the Penal Code, for cheating. — Bernama