Kuching: Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen has called on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to intervene immediately to ensure victims of a recent scam involving a former Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) employee are fully and swiftly refunded.
One of the victims, Ms. Lee, lost RM270,000 after being persuaded to invest in what was allegedly a BSN-backed scheme.
She was instructed by the ex-employee to withdraw her savings from her BSN account, which were then misappropriated.
Chong said many have fallen victim to such a scam committed by the ex-employee of BSN, and it was reported that over 70 victims have been scammed, and the total loss amount was estimated at around RM11 million.
“When Ms. Lee filed her report, BSN demanded that she produce proof of her source of funds for the investment. In her case, the source of funds was clear. A major part was from her savings account with BSN. A small portion was from the withdrawal of a fixed deposit by her father.
“However, despite such clear source of fund, BSN later resorted to other excuse to delay the refund of the fund to her,” he said in a statement.
Chong emphasised that the fraud occurred during the course of the employee’s duties at a BSN branch and involved normal banking transactions.
“BSN is therefore responsible and liable for compensating the victims. The obligation on the part of BSN to compensate the victims cannot be exonerated on the ground that the source of funds of the victims is suspicious.
“More so in the case of Ms. Lee where her source of fund has previously been cleared by BSN, there should not be any further delay in refunding her the scammed amount,” he said.
Chong said that while some of the scam victims have received their refunds from BSN, many have not.
He added that continued delays in refunding the victims not only hurt those affected but also risk undermining public confidence in BSN and Malaysia’s banking system.
“If banking transactions carried out in banks’ offices are not safe, where else can one safely carry out banking transactions?
“If banks are not responsible for such fraud committed in their office by its officers, there is no accountability in our banking industry,” he said.
He also called on BSN to expedite the refund process immediately and to stop making excuses to delay or deny payment.
“Swift action by both Bank Negara and BSN is critical to restore confidence and uphold accountability in our financial institutions,” he said.
