State police chief A Thaiveegan said the scheme offered people 30% returns on their investments a month, which never materialised.
The three individuals, all in their 40s, were arrested following reports lodged by victims. They will be investigated for cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
“Their assets will be frozen under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001,” Thaiveegan said in a statement today.
Without providing further details, he told members of the public not to be fooled by schemes that were too good to be true. He added that those who had fallen prey to similar schemes should report them to the police.
In April last year, some 100 Penangites lost RM6 million to a Ponzi-like scheme which offered investors high returns.
In May 2017, meanwhile, police investigated Penang-based JJ Poor to Rich (JJPTR), a scheme which had collected nearly RM2 billion from investors.
JJPTR entered the limelight after claiming that its funds were siphoned off by “hackers”, resulting in the alleged loss of over RM217 million.
It promised to refund all investment funds collected from its 31,000 members, following the injection of capital by a new pool of foreign investors.
Penang-based MBI International also came under police scrutiny after it was found to have been operating illegally. A total of RM177 million in bank accounts were frozen following raids by the authorities.
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