PJ detains two suspects of investment scam that harmed 30 people
The Judiciary Police (PJ) has detained one man and a woman suspected of being part of a larger group that lured at least 30 local residents into a fraudulent investment scheme, the PJ announced yesterday in a special press conference.
The cumulative losses resulting from the fraudulent scheme have been calculated at about HKD 48.8 million.
The case dates from 2017, when the group allegedly started to operate, to March 2021.
According to the PJ, 30 Macau residents aged between 27 and 68 years old, have submitted similar reports complaining of the actions of this group.
Together they are said to have lost about HKD48.8 million in a scheme that aimed to invest in a company alleged to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The victims gave evidence that they had been approached by the shareholders of an investment company that was promoting the investment via the acquisition of stocks of the company that was apparently listed in the neighboring regions. According to these people, such an investment would yield very high returns as, after the listing, the value of the stocks would be much higher than the acquisition price.
The victims invested sums ranging between HKD40,000 and HKD29 million.
In December 2021, the Monetary Authority of Macao released a statement on the illegal operations of this investment company. The company was not recognized as a legal entity authorized to perform such investments. That is when the victims understood that they had been involved in a fraudulent investment scheme and had lost their money. They subsequently reported the case to the PJ.
After an investigation, the police detained the two suspects, who are aged 48 and 58 years old respectively and are the shareholders of the investment company.
The police said their company was involved in establishing an offshore company with the purpose of creating a fraudulent investment scheme and defrauding the victims.
The police also said they believed at least two other people were involved in the case but that they remain at large.
The PJ will continue to investigate this case.
