In a statement, Kuala Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Mohd Mahidisham Ishak said the victim received a call on March 28 from one of the suspects who claimed to be from the Palace.

The victim was told that he was being awarded the Seri Utama Mahkota Wilayah title and a five-acre piece of land.

He then handed over details of his company and relevant personal information to the suspect at a restaurant near the Palace’s second entrance on the same day.

On April 26, he was told to transfer RM9,400 to an account given by the suspect, before making four more transactions totaling RM247,000 to another account between April 30 to June 17.

He had also handed over RM150,000 in cash to the suspect.

It was after he made the payments that he suspected something was amiss and decided to check the background of the organisation for the account numbers he was given.

He found out that the accounts were under an organisation that was not registered with the Registrar of Societies (RoS).

Mahidisham said there were three suspects in this case and that the police were still identifying them.

“The case involves losses totaling to RM406,400. It is being probed under Section 420 of the Penal Code,” he said.