TEN employees from JJ Poor to Rich (JJPTR) were held during a raid into the unlicensed forex trading entity’s headquarters at Jalan Perak, George Town, this afternoon.

When police emerged from the office on the first floor of a shop lot about 4pm, they carried a blank mock cheque, five bags and a large box.

One officer, who carried a stack of forms and MyKad belonging to JJPTR employees, said police were taking statements from the 10 employees.

“We are taking the employees to the police station for documentation. They are not under arrest. We understand they only work here.

“We ask the media not to take their photographs. Please cooperate,” he told reporters outside the office.

He declined to say to which police station they would be taken.

“We will also not issue any statements. Please wait for Bukit Aman to call a press conference,” an officer told the media shortly before the items were removed from the office.

About 20 officers from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) raided the office about noon today. 

Yesterday, Bukit Aman CCID director Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said police have frozen five JJPTR bank accounts.

The office on Jalan Perak was open as usual to provide customer service to JJPTR investors, who have been trying to get refunds from the company.

JJPTR, according to its founder Johnson Lee, had run into trouble after its trading accounts were hacked, resulting in losses of more than US$400 million (RM1.7 billion).

The company, which reportedly has more than 400,000 investors in Malaysia and overseas, has been refunding money to newer investors since the start of this month.

Earlier this week, JJPTR also returned the investments of members with disabilities.

JJPTR is on Bank Negara’s financial consumers’ alert list of known companies and websites not authorised nor approved under the relevant laws and regulations administered by the central bank.

A special task force – made up of BNM, the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, SSM, the Securities Commission, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers – was set up last month to investigate money game schemes. – May 12, 2017.