Behind Chow Kit shopfronts, Immigration uncovers alleged illegal money transfer network, eight detained

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 28 — An illegal money transfer syndicate using the ‘Hundi’ system and targeting Bangladeshi nationals in the Klang Valley was uncovered after the Immigration Department raided three premises in Chow Kit yesterday, where the activities were being conducted under the guise of retail and wholesale businesses.

Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the special operation, which began at 2.37pm, led to the arrest of eight Bangladeshi men aged between 24 and 42 following a month of intelligence gathering.

He said the syndicate was believed to have used retail and wholesale business premises as a front to evade detection by the authorities.

“The syndicate is believed to have targeted Bangladeshi nationals in the Klang Valley by using e-wallet accounts and local bank accounts registered under the names of foreign agents to conduct financial transactions.

“For customers without access to digital accounts, money was received and sent in cash,” he said in a statement here today.

Zakaria said investigations also found that the syndicate’s agents operated according to Bangladesh’s banking hours, from Sunday to Thursday, between noon and 8 pm local time.

“Further checks found that transactions recorded in the e-wallet accounts from January to October 2026 amounted to more than RM180,000,” he said.

Zakaria said enforcement officers also seized RM24,720 in cash believed to be proceeds from the activities, as well as five Bangladeshi passports, five mobile phones, a laptop, closed-circuit television (CCTV) equipment, QR codes and several business documents.

He said the seized documents included copies of documents from the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) licences, shop stamps and premises keys.

Zakaria said preliminary checks found that two of the eight Bangladeshi nationals detained had overstayed in the country, while the other six were believed to have misused their respective immigration passes.

All eight were detained on suspicion of committing offences under Section 15(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 and Regulation 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 before being taken to the Immigration Office for further investigation.

He said two other Bangladeshi men, as well as a local man and a local woman, were also issued notices to appear at the Immigration office to assist in the investigation.

The operation was carried out by the Intelligence and Special Operations Division of the Immigration Department headquarters in Putrajaya, in collaboration with the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC). — Bernama

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布城，10月28日讯——移民局昨日突击搜查了秋杰路的三处场所，捣毁了一个利用“Hundi”系统，以巴生谷地区孟加拉国民为目标的非法汇款团伙。这些场所的非法活动以零售和批发业务为幌子进行。

移民局总监拿督扎卡利亚·沙班表示，经过一个月的情报收集，于下午2点37分开始的特别行动逮捕了8名年龄在24岁至42岁之间的孟加拉国男子。

他说，据信该犯罪团伙利用零售和批发营业场所作为掩护，以逃避当局的侦查。

“据信，该犯罪团伙以巴生谷地区的孟加拉国国民为目标，利用以外国代理人名义注册的电子钱包账户和本地银行账户进行金融交易。

“对于无法使用数字账户的客户，款项的收付都是以现金形式进行的，”他今天在此发表的声明中说。

扎卡里亚表示，调查还发现，该犯罪集团的代理人按照孟加拉国的银行营业时间进行活动，即从周日到周四，当地时间中午至晚上 8 点。

他说：“进一步检查发现，2026年1月至10月期间，电子钱包账户中的交易记录金额超过18万令吉。”

扎卡里亚表示，执法人员还缴获了24720令吉现金，据信是这些活动的收益，以及五本孟加拉国护照、五部手机、一台笔记本电脑、闭路电视（CCTV）设备、二维码和一些商业文件。

他说，查获的文件包括马来西亚公司委员会 (SSM) 的文件副本、吉隆坡市政厅 (DBKL) 的许可证、店铺印章和店铺钥匙。

扎卡里亚表示，初步调查发现，被拘留的八名孟加拉国国民中有两人在该国逾期居留，而另外六人据信滥用了各自的移民通行证。

八人因涉嫌违反 1959/63 年移民法第 15(1)(c) 条和 1963 年移民条例第 39(b) 条而被拘留，随后被带到移民局进行进一步调查。

他说，另有两名孟加拉国男子以及一名当地男子和一名当地女子也被传唤到移民局协助调查。

此次行动由位于布城的移民局总部情报及特别行动处与国家反金融犯罪中心（NFCC）合作开展。——马新社

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