Kuching: Five additional victims have come forward claiming they lost a total of RM595,000 to an alleged fraudulent investment scheme promoted by a Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) employee.
According to DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen, the individuals sought his assistance today after realising that the “investment scheme” introduced to them was not an official BSN product.
“Some of the victims had put money into the scheme as far back as September 2024 and had even “renewed” their investments thereafter.
“Their suspicions arose only last week when news of the alleged fraud surfaced in the media. Upon checking with BSN, they were informed that the bank had no record of their investments and that their funds had been misappropriated by the employee involved,” he said in a statement.
Chong said the scam appeared to follow the same pattern reported by earlier victims.
“The employee allegedly instructed customers to withdraw cash from their BSN accounts before claiming to invest the money on their behalf. The victims were then issued fake “official” BSN receipts.
“All five victims have since lodged police reports and filed claims with BSN seeking reimbursement for their losses. Some were told by bank officers that the bank aims to resolve the claims within 14 days,” he said.
With the latest reports, a total of 11 victims have approached Chong, involving an estimated RM1.6 million allegedly swindled through the same modus operandi.
“I believe there are still many out there who have been swindled via the same officer using the same modus operandi. I urge that they quickly check and verify with the branches of BSN on their investments,” Chong said.
He also commended BSN for responding promptly to the matter and stated that he would continue to monitor the cases until the victims recovered their losses.
