MHO claimed these schemes had left 276 people suffering losses amounting to nearly RM104.9 million, Bernama reported.

Its secretary-general,Hishamuddin Hashim, said they had received complaints from the victims who joined property and shariah redeemable shares (i-RPS) investment programmes offered by several local companies.

“The victims claimed these companies had taken advantage of them, misappropriating or using their investment capital for purposes not disclosed or agreed to,” he told a press conference after lodging a report at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya today. Also present were the victims.

Hishamuddin said the victims were requesting MACC to conduct a thorough investigation into the issues they faced under Section 18 of the MACC Act, which makes it an offence for anyone to deceive another by providing false documents, such as receipts or invoices, with the intent to mislead.

He said the companies’ modus operandi involved using prominent individuals to convince the public to invest.

“They used big names. Some allegedly involved company directors with the title ‘Tan Sri’ and well-known shariah advisers. This convinced the complainants to invest,” he said.