KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman's Anti-Money Laundering Criminal Investigation (AMLA) Unit has frozen almost RM300 million worth of financial assets of a foreign illegal online gambling operator.
The man,who is said to hold dual citizenship had attempted to launder money he had obtained through commission from gambling activities he hosted.
Bukit Aman AMLA unit chief Datuk Muhammed Hasbullah Ali said the assets seized worth RM299.61million comprised a central depository system (CDS) account with stocks worth RM281 million, an escrow account with RM18.56 million in it and two local bank accounts with RM58,048 in them.
He added that investigations revealed the escrow account was managed by an offshore bank in Labuan.
"The banks had tipped us off after suspiscious activities involving the movement of funds were observed.
"Our investigations revealed that the suspect, in his 30s received proceeds from an illegal online gambling operation which he has been running since 2012, " he told reporters at the AMLA unit office here on Tuesday.
He said the suspect was believed to be receiving commission from the gambling activities of more than 10,000 users who used his online gambling facilities.
"Our investigations revealed that between 2012 to 2020, he had earned an estimated RM14.05 billion from these activities.
"Further checks revealed that since last year, he transferred over RM371 million to Malaysia for the purpose of money laundering," he said adding the suspect has two nationalities.
He explained that one of the countries that he holds citizenship in has already put him on the Interpol's red notice for illegal gambling operations and money laundering.
"He have opened investigations under Section 4(1) of the Anti-money Laundering and Anti-terrorism Financing Act 2001.
"We wish to advise offshore banks to increase their due diligence and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes on those who want to open accounts here to prevent money-laundering activities," he said.