TWO British men were sentenced to six months in prison by the Sessions Court in Shah Alam today after pleading guilty to charges of running a fraudulent international online investment scheme.

Judge Rozilah Salleh also fined Andrew Mark Peters, 55, RM180,000 in lieu of 22 months in prison, while Darren Anthony McNicholas, 51, was fined RM140,000 in lieu of 16 months behind bars.

Peters was charged with two counts of running the scheme, instructing McNicholas under the pseudonyms ‘David Henshaw’ and ‘Henry Paxton’ to deceive a Scottish citizen with guaranteed high profits from a short-term investment by purchasing shares in two non-existent companies.

The charges were framed under section 109 of the penal code read with section 417 of the same code.

McNicholas also faced two charges of cheating the same person.

The actions of the two accused prompted the victim to hand over nearly US$5,700 (RM25,700) and €121,200 (RM578,000) into two company bank accounts between May 21 and June 27, 2019.

Earlier, lawyer Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali who represented the two accused, asked for a minimum sentence on the grounds that they were first offenders, had no previous convictions and had co-operated fully throughout the investigation.

“Peters has health issues and needs medical care for his bowels. He also has difficulties moving around and needs wheelchair assistance.

“McNicholas has a Malaysian wife and child. The sentence will affect his Malaysian family.

“Their guilty plea saves costs and time for the court and the prosecution, besides they express regrets and apologise for the offences,” he said.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry asked for a sentence commensurate with the crime, taking into account the public interest.

He said a sentence that is too low would send a message to Malaysians that the court did not take the offence seriously.

“According to the facts of the case, the group had been based in Malaysia since 2015. There should be appropriate punishment so that the accused do not repeat the offence,” he said.

The prosecution was also handled by MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Akram Gharib.

Previously, five British and two Filipino nationals were among the 10 people arrested by the MACC in raids in Kuala Lumpur and Penang on February 21 over an international investment fraud scheme, which also involved money laundering and other corrupt practices. – Bernama, March 17, 2023.