Johnson Lee was last known to have been held by police in Taiping until last Tuesday, when his remand expired. He and two key associates in JJPTR had been held in remand by police for a day but the request to extend it was turned down.
As there had been no word on his whereabouts since his release on police bail, questions had been raised if he had fled the country. However, his lawyer G Jaya Prem has denied such rumours saying he is just lying low.
“My client wants to avoid the public eye for safety reasons.
“Lee still has to report to the Taiping district police headquarters on a regular basis. I am in constant contact with him,” Jaya Prem was quoted as saying by the daily.
He added that any further action will only be taken based on the outcome of the current investigation into Lee’s involvement in the investment scheme which is alleged to have cheated thousands of Malaysians, up to the tune of RM1.7 billion, according to the police.
JJPTR gained widespread media attention last month after it claimed that its funds were siphoned off by “hackers”.
Bukit Aman commercial crimes investigation department (CCID) director Comm Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani said that JJPTR had collected investments of up to RM1.7 billion.
Police had also reportedly said that they found no evidence that JJPTR’s accounts had been hacked.
Lee and his two associates were first arrested in Klang on May 16 by the Bukit Aman CCID team.
The arrests followed a raid of eight JJPTR offices in Penang on May 12, by police, Bank Negara, the Companies Commission of Malaysia, Inland Revenue Board, National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team and Cyber Security.
The trio were remanded until May 19 in Klang and were released before they were rearrested and transferred to Penang, where the initial police reports had been made against them last month.
After Penang police failed to get a remand order against the trio, police re-arrested them again and transferred them to Taiping, where another police report had been made.
JJPTR’s money game investment scheme was established in 2015, promising returns as high as 20% a month to members.