It is now the Thai media’s turn to speculate on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s son’s involvement in a Ponzi scheme.

A segment aired by Thai television station NOW 26 , which is now being circulated locally via WhatsApp, questioned whether transnational online sales company Ufun Group Bhd Ltd is connected to Najib’s second son, Mohd Nazifuddin Mohd Najib ( photo ).

The programme's anchors pointed out that due to Malaysian media being state-controlled, there had not been much news on Ufun in Malaysia.

“But allegations on social media and blogs show that there is a connection between Najib’s son and Ufun,” they claimed.

The Bangkok Post had reported previously that Thai police estimated that Ufun, through its multi-level marketing scheme and Utoken crypto-currency, has cheated some 120,000 people of a sum of up to RM4.1 billion.

Ufun members sell Utoken, a digital currency, which ostensibly could be used to pay for goods and services.

NOW 26 proceeded to point out how Ufun had invested in the Gateway Klang project of which Ufun has claimed it has a 30 percent stake.

“The developer of Gateway Klang - Lagenda Erajuta Sdn Bhd - is a subsidiary of Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, a real estate developer.

“Sagajuta’s executive chairperson is Nazifuddin.

“There’s a lot in this that has been left unanswered. Nobody has questioned the son of Najib on this in Malaysia."

They also pointed out how Malaysian officials have ‘not done anything' as their hands were tied, having to wait for the prosecutor in Thailand to take action.

“We want our viewers to understand the situation. It may turn out that you may have to wait longer, especially since no action has been taken in Malaysia,” said NOW 26 .

'VIP link' protection?

Checks by  Malaysiakini , nevertheless, have not found any evidence directly linking Najib's son to Ufun.

Investigations showed its multi-level marketing activities to be decentralised, with members touting its scheme independently while promotional materials are often similar.

Some of the promotional material have even attempted to link Nazifuddin with Ufun in a bid to lend credence to the latter's scheme.

 

One such promotional material, widely available online, is the claim that the inception of Ufun was by one ‘Datuk Warren Eu’ and Sagajuta (Sabah).

 

The widespread availability of this material, which includes a photograph of Nazifuddin, has even led watchdog site BehindMLM to speculate whether the lack of action against Ufun by Malaysian authorities is due to this ‘VIP link’.

 

The trail of damage Ufun left behind in Thailand has raised concerns about how widespread its activities are in Malaysia and how many may have fallen victim to the scheme so far.

This is a smear campaign, says Najib's son