Malaysia: arrests made over alleged payment ring for illegal gambling

Ten people have been arrested.

Malaysia.- Authorities in Malaysia claim to have dismantled a syndicate facilitating online payments for illegal gambling. Raids resulted in the arrest of ten people, including a man named Datuk Seri, the alleged mastermind of the operation.

Police operations took place from January 28 to 31 in the Klang Valley. Among those arrested were technicians, programmers, and administrative personnel. As reported by The Star, the syndicate, operational since mid-2022, provided online payment facilities to illegal gambling entities through an entity named Cita Layar Sdn Bhd. 

Its platform, MyPay88, allegedly enabled transactions amounting to an estimated RM576m. The suspects, aged between 27 and 49, were remanded for three to eleven days following their arrest.

Deputy Comm Datuk Muhammad Hasbullah Ali, head of the IGP secretariat’s anti-money laundering division, said police seized nine mobile phones, three computer accessories, four sets of documents, 10 luxury vehicles and RM325,000 cash. Some 42 bank accounts with RM18.2m in funds were frozen.

Investigations revealed that approximately 40 illegal gambling operations allegedly used MyPay88 for transactions. The syndicate profited by levying a 2 per cent commission on each transaction.

See also: Malaysia: 23 arrested in raids on alleged illegal gambling and crypto call centres