In a statement, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the 42-year-old lost the money when he attempted to change the ringgit to the Vietnamese dong in order to pay his employees.

“Investigations revealed that the victim had approached a man from Miri, Sarawak, who previously helped him with currency conversions, but with smaller sums.

“In late March, the victim wanted to convert a sum of RM6.5 million, but only received Vietnamese dong worth RM900,000.”

Hussein said the victim was asked to make 15 payments to seven bank accounts and only realised that he had been duped after the suspect gave him excuses and avoided paying him the balance.

He said the case is being investigated for cheating.

Hussein also advised the public to exercise caution when it comes to exchanging currencies, and to do so only with companies registered with Bank Negara Malaysia.