KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 — A Malaysian who worked in Manila, the Philippines, was kidnapped on October 22 and later killed by a group of unidentified assailants who had demanded a RM330,000 ransom.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf said the ransom was paid via the crypto wallet USDT app, but on October 23, the Philippines authorities received a report the body of a man was found in San Simon, Pampanga.
“In the report, the physical description and tattoo on the body matched the description and tattoo of the victim who was kidnapped,” he told the press after a special CCID media conference today.
In a follow-up to the case on November 9, the CCID received an application from the Malawakil Manila Attache office to assist in analysing a suspect’s crypto wallet transaction.
Following the analysis, the cryptocurrency funds transfer trail found the money was transferred to a currency exchange not registered in Malaysia.
“Information received from the exchange revealed the identity of six suspects (all foreigners), who police believe can assist in the kidnap and murder. All information was handed over to the Malawakil Manila Attache office for further investigations,“ Ramli said.
Meanwhile, 10 police reports have been received in connection with forex investments that involved RM4.7 million since November 1, and initial investigations revealed the website involved in the investment is believed to be operated from abroad.
“The victims who had invested were promised lucrative returns and monthly dividends of five per cent for their invested premium. The victims claimed they were confident of the investment plan through communication with the suspect held via the Zoom app,’’ he said.
The investment in the scheme by victims amounting to RM437,253 to RM864,30 was through the Huobi app (cryptocurrency exchange).
Ramli added that based on investigations and cryptocurrency analysis, the CCID believes an international syndicate carried out suspicious transactions worth over RM1 billion and the police are taking follow-up actions.
— Bernama
