Kuching: Victims of a multimillion-ringgit investment scam involving former staff of Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) are facing difficulties recovering their losses, after the bank allegedly refused to refund funds it deemed to have come from “suspicious” sources.
According to Stampin MP and ADUN for Padungan Chong Chieng Jen, some victims were denied full reimbursement because the cash they handed over to the bank’s employees did not originate from a bank withdrawal within 30 days prior to the incident.
“To BSN, it is as if it is a crime for someone to keep cash at home or in his office.
“If the cash money was not withdrawn from a bank account within 30 days before the date of the misappropriation, then it is considered ‘suspicious’ money and treated as ‘illegal’, thus BSN will not refund the money thus misappropriated,” he said in a statement.
He said that 20 victims of the BSN investment scams perpetrated by the ex-employee of BSN in Kuching, who have sought his assistance, to date, 14 of the victims have fully recovered and received the full refund from BSN, four of the victims have received a partial refund, while two have not received any refund at all.
The controversy stems from a scam exposed in December last year involving several BSN employees in Kuching who allegedly persuaded customers to invest in a trust fund purportedly offered by the bank.
Victims were asked to hand over cash deposits inside the bank premises, but the money was allegedly never placed into the investment fund and instead misappropriated by the rogue employees, whose employment has since been terminated.
Chong said the bank considers money to be “suspicious” if victims cannot prove that it was withdrawn from a bank account within a month before the date it was allegedly misappropriated.
He described the justification as “most ridiculous,” arguing that the bank’s responsibility to reimburse customers for fraud committed by its employees should not depend on where the victims obtained their funds.
“Even if the source of funds is suspicious, it is the task of the police to investigate the depositors on their source of funds and not for your bank to claim a suspicious source of funds as a reason to exonerate the bank from its legal obligation to reimburse the victims of the fraud committed by its officers,” he said.
Chong added that for the 20 victims, a total of RM2.68 million in cash was misappropriated, of which an approximate outstanding sum of RM430,000 remains to be refunded.
“Among those affected was a food operator who reportedly lost RM12,000 of his investment money because it came from daily business collections rather than a bank withdrawal.
“Another couple also claimed they were denied refunds after using extra liquid cash from their trade to make the investment,” he said.
Chong said the bank’s obligation to compensate victims of fraud committed by its officers is independent of the source of the victims’ funds.
He urged the Ministry of Finance Malaysia (MOF) to intervene in the matter, noting that BSN is a government-owned bank and should not take advantage of customers in such circumstances.
