KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — Ten individuals, including a bank manager, believed to be involved in fraudulent withdrawals of RM24.2 million from fixed deposit accounts of bank account holders, will be charged in Kota Kinabalu on Thursday.

Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said nine suspects would be charged under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code (for being a member of an organised crime group) and one other under the National Registration Regulations 1990, he told reporters during a press conference, here today.

Ramli said the 10 suspects who were detained earlier under Section 4(5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012, would be charged after police investigations discovered elements and evidence of organised crime in the said case.

"This is the first time that court action is being taken under provisions of Sosma for an offence involving commercial crime.

"On July 22, the Deputy Public Prosecutor had given instructions to charge nine suspects under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code and one under the National Registration Regulations 1990,” he said.

Ramli added that the syndicate had started planning the ‘heist’ since end of last year and started activating their plan from March to June.

"The syndicate had meticulously planned and carried out the activity of siphoning money from fixed deposit accounts, including using fake MyKads to carry out transactions and manipulating fingerprint scanners used by banks for verification purposes,” he said.

Last month, media reported that police had arrested a bank employee suspected of being involved in the fraudulent withdrawals of fixed deposits amounting to RM24.2 million from four accounts and the suspect was later identified as a 38-year-old woman who was arrested in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.

The arrest was made after police received four reports from account holders and bank staff in early June in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, when the victims noticed suspicious cash withdrawals made in Kota Kinabalu involving their fixed deposit accounts.

He said all the account holders involved denied any knowledge of the transactions and said they had never been to Kota Kinabalu to make the withdrawals.

Police later detained 14 suspects, including for bank officers and a ‘Datuk’ businessman after carrying out raids in Perlis and Sabah. — Bernama