A group of investors seeks Kong’s help.
KUCHING (Jan 15): The public is urged to exercise caution when investing in any company, advised Michael Kong, special assistant to Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen.
In a statement yesterday, he said due diligence must also be made with Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) if these entities have the required Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) licenses as well as checks with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) or the Securities Commission to ensure that these organisations have the required licenses to take deposits from the public.
“Every year, we read stories about people falling victim to scams or sketchy investment schemes. Before investing, it is paramount that proper checks be done to ensure the business is viable and legitimate,” he advised following a meeting with a group of investors who were recently duped into a MLM-type of investment involving cryptocurrency.
He said the group represented close to 1,000 investors in Sarawak with a total investment of approximately 250 Bitcoins and 600 Ethereums.
At today’s market rate, he said the total investment was worth more than RM52 million (250 Bitcoins are worth US$10,675,000 (or RM44,620,000) and 600 Ethereums are worth US$1,960,000 (or RM8,190,000).
“From the testimony of this group, there are many more people out there who have invested their hard-earned money in this company.
“I have been told that in total, it is estimated that this company has managed to gather approximately 8,000 Bitcoins and 10,000 Ethereums since its establishment in March 2019. This investment size is equivalent to approximately RM1.57billion!
“I will be assisting this group of investors to explore what can be done to help them recover their investments,” he said.