KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Aman has confirmed that investigations are underway into the Nicshare and CommonApps investment scams.
The scams came to light following the recent arrest of a Malaysian man and his Thai wife — believed to be the key suspects in the scams — in Songkhla, Thailand, on Tuesday.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said 24 reports had been filed regarding the Nicshare scam which involved losses amounting to RM8.21 million.
"We have also received two reports related to the CommonApps investment scam, with losses totaling RM340,079," he said.
He added that, to date, several subjects and entities have been prosecuted over these two syndicates.
"Investigations are still ongoing into both investment schemes. The connection between both individuals, currently held by Thai authorities, to these schemes in Malaysia are also being probed further," he said.
It was reported that Thai police believe they have cracked down on a major scam syndicate that laundered over five billion baht (about RM850.5 million) through fraudulent transactions, following the arrests of a Malaysian ringleader and his Thai wife.
The commander of the Economic Crime Suppression Division (ECD) under the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Major-General Puttidej Bunkrapue, was quoted as saying that the two are key suspects involved in a large-scale money-laundering scheme.
He said the 38-year-old Malaysian man, wanted under a warrant issued by the Criminal Court, was detained at the Sadao Immigration Checkpoint in Songkhla province as he entered Thailand on Dec 16, while his Thai wife, also implicated in the scheme, was arrested at a different location on Dec 18.
"Both suspects face charges of collusion in money laundering," Puttidej said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Colonel Theeraphas Yungyuen, who is leading the investigation, was reported as saying the criminal operation was a highly organised network involving both Thai and foreign nationals.
Theeraphas had said the arrests followed complaints from numerous victims who were duped into investing through fake mobile applications, including "Nicshare" and "ComonApps", where these apps falsely promised high returns from stock market investments.