Several conmen masquerading as Bank Negara enforcement officials have allegedly approached consultants and customers of Genneva Malaysia Sdn Bhd, asking them to surrender their gold and certificates of ownership.

In return, they are said to have promised to recover cash seized by the central bank and return it to those who have bought Genneva gold.

“Someone who identified himself as ‘Halim’ contacted several Genneva consultants and some of my clients, claiming to be able to recover the cash,” said Dadhyanna Tan, a consultant and officer-bearer in the Genneva Malaysia Supporters Group.

“Bank Negara would never go around asking for gold, as its job is to protect the people. Bank Negara would never approach individuals by phone or in person.”

However, as many of those who have bought gold from Genneva are confused, she has called on the authorities to act immediately.

“We appeal to the authorities to release a statement to the public that they should not entertain anyone impersonating Bank Negara or any other authority,” she said.

Following a raid by Bank Negara and other government agencies on Oct 1, the accounts of the company and its directors have been frozen.  

Bank Negara has also seized all the gold and cash worth millions of ringgit, preventing the company from continuing its operations.

    

The management and customers have since submitted appeals to the premier, ministers, parliamentarians, among others.

A Genneva official has claimed that the central bank has found no wrongdoing on the company’s part.

“Last November, Bank Negara ordered us to provide details of our business, consultants and customers. After months of investigations, it found no wrongdoing. It requested us to inform the public through the media about the nature of our business and status. We complied.”

The  management then sought the advice of Syariah experts and legal advisers.

“We followed their advice and revised our Standard Operating Procedures according to Syariah principles,” the official added.

M KRISHNAMOORTHY is a freelance journalist.