Bank Negara Malaysia said today 142.7kg of gold, money in bank accounts and cash amounting to RM101.92 million were seized by the authorities after raiding four companies suspected to be operating illegal investment schemes using gold.

In a joint statement with the Royal Malaysian Police, Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism and Companies Commission of Malaysia, Bank Negara said the seized records revealed that a substantial number of investors had paid but were yet to receive their delivery of gold prior to the raids.

In some cases, the period of non-delivery exceeded five months.

The statement said the enforcement agencies are aware of the plight faced by the affected investors and every effort was being made to determine the whereabouts of the money and assets of the companies.

As such, a dedicated team has been set up to track the movement of money and other assets of the companies and international accounting firms have also been appointed on a full time basis to assist investigations.

Scope of investigation is international

"The scope of investigation is international. In this connection, the enforcement agencies are actively collaborating with their foreign counterparts to obtain evidence in several other jurisdictions to assist investigations," the statement said.

Investigations revealed that several of these companies have poor record keeping and failed to maintain accurate records of all business and financial transactions.

These companies maintained different versions of financial records for different purposes and also failed to submit audited accounts with the Companies Commission of Malaysia for the last few years, as required by the law.

The statement said that for businesses, especially those involving large number of clients and monies, it is imperative to maintain accurate records of all business transactions to avoid financial mismanagement or misrepresentation of the true financial situation of the company.

Last month, Bank Negara, police, Domestic Trade Ministry and the Companies Commission carried out joint raids on several of Genneva Malaysia's premises as well as the residences of its directors when some investors, who had become victims, lodged police reports.

- Bernama