Contractor loses RM13.3mil to bank officers in refinancing scam
Predeep Nambiar-
September 29, 2022 2:37 PM
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Contractor Chin Hooi Phang (left) with Penang Gerakan public complaints bureau chief H’ng Khoon Leng.
GEORGE TOWN: A man lost RM13.3 million to two bank officers who had promised him returns for supporting 85 “home refinancing” applications which they claimed were pending at their bank.
Contractor Chin Hooi Phang, 58, said he was approached for a loan from the two bank officers, in their 30s, to enable them to hasten payouts to customers who took refinancing schemes from the bank.
The men told Chin the loaned money would be used to pay the customers an upfront sum, as the actual disbursement from the bank refinancing scheme would “take a long time”.
Chin agreed, paying RM13.3 million for 85 home refinancing cases over a period of one year, Penang Gerakan public complaints bureau chief H’ng Khoon Leng told reporters today.
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H’ng said the two bank officers – one of whom was no longer with the bank but was a manager Chin had known for eight years – had promised him an undisclosed sum as returns for the advances.
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“The bank manager told Chin he would get the money for 10 cases, but the returns were never received, with the perpetrator claiming it was used to bankroll other cases,” H’ng said.
Chin said he had first met the bank manager when he sought a mortgage eight years ago and they had become friends.
He said he had raised the RM13.3 million between October 2020 and November 2021, including nearly RM10 million from friends and relatives, while RM3.3 million was from his own savings.
He said he was convinced it was a legitimate case, as the men had produced original bank documents and were employees of a well-known bank.
He claimed police investigations revealed that the names and MyKad numbers used in all 85 documents were real, and had been extracted from the bank’s database, but the named individuals had not applied for any refinancing plans.
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Chin said his demands for payment fell on deaf ears. He was later told by the men that all 85 cases had been made up.
“The two men I trusted admitted that they defrauded me, and I made them sign an agreement that they would pay me back in instalments. I have yet to get back a single sen.
“Now, the bank manager is missing, and his friend (the other bank officer) is refusing to answer calls,” he said.
He also learnt that the bank manager had left his job, but the other officer was still with the bank.
Chin said he had to sell all his valuables, including his car and watches, from which he raised RM800,000, in an effort to repay nearly RM10 million in loans taken from his relatives and friends.
He said he lodged a police report against the men, two weeks ago.
