Bukit Aman commercial crime investigation department chief Ramli Yoosuf said the man was nabbed by police on Christmas Day and released on bail four days later.

“Each set of data was being sold at US$200 (RM927), with payments to be made using cryptocurrency,” he said at a press conference here today.

He said the case is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Computer Crimes Act 1997 for unauthorised access with intent to commit further offences.

Separately, Ramli announced that police opened 40,350 investigation papers into commercial crime cases last year, involving losses totalling RM2.1 billion.

Most of the cases involved fraud (36,030 cases). Police also investigated 1,215 cases involving criminal breach of trust, illegal money lending (994 cases), counterfeit money (970 cases) and cybercrimes (867 cases).

Ramli said his department had conducted 18,221 operations and raids throughout 2023, resulting in the arrests of 22,911 people.

He also called for an increase in the number of investigation officers (IO) assigned to his department, stating that it presently only has 839 officers – with each one having to handle an average of 48 cases.

He said IOs with computer expertise and a background in computing were invaluable assets for the department given the increasing number of crimes being committed online.

Ramli said his department is also focused on preventive measures, including raising public awareness about the dangers of commercial crime and keeping them safe from fraud.

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