KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) imposed a total compound of RM50 million on I-Serve Online Mall Sdn Bhd and six other companies under the I-Serve Group, for accepting deposits without a license, on October 19, 2022.
The other six companies were i-Serve Technology and Vacations Sdn Bhd, QA Smart Partnership PLT, QA Elite Partnership PLT, QA Premium Partnership PLT, MM2217 PLT and Valuewise PLT.
BNM today announced that the compounds were imposed following a joint enforcement action taken against the seven entities on suspicion of committing various offences.
BNM's investigation revealed that between June 2018 and September 2021, the respective entities had accepted deposits from the public and had consequentially engaged directly in transactions that involved proceeds of such illegal deposit-taking activities.
This was undertaken through schemes where monies were accepted from the public on terms under which the monies would be repaid in full, in breach of the Financial Services Act (FSA).
BNM said the total compound amount was determined by considering factors such as the severity of offences committed and all aggravating and mitigating factors.
On November 16, 2022, the entities paid the total amount of compound of RM50 million imposed by BNM.
I-Serve Group has been instructed to ensure that it does not operate any scheme or a semblance of a scheme that accepts deposits from the public, in contravention of section 137(1) of the FSA.