Judicial commissioner Suriyati Hasimah Hashim granted the government’s application to forfeit the funds, kept in 27 accounts linked to an online investment scheme and registered to various business entities.

She said the prosecution had proven on a balance of probabilities that the scheme’s victims were tricked into depositing money in these accounts.

The court also dismissed a contention by one of the 27 account holders – LWC Good Service Sdn Bhd – that the funds in its account were unrelated to the scheme, having allegedly originated from a cryptocurrency business.

“Police investigation found that funds from mule accounts were transferred into LWC’s account.

“LWC failed to show that they took reasonable steps to verify the transactions,” said Suriyati, adding that the registration of LWC’s business address raised red flags as police had found the unit in question vacant.

Suriyati also dismissed a third-party claim filed by one Ahmad Nizam Shaik Abdullah for the recovery of RM48,610.25.

The court held that he lacked the good faith to stake the claim, with Suriyati saying the claimant had failed to specify the exact amount he transferred to one of the 27 accounts.