Genneva probe involves 35,000 investors, RM10bil in investments

KUALA LUMPUR: The probe into gold trading firm Genneva Sdn Bhd involved some 35,000 investors and RM10bil worth of investments, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

Genneva and its related companies are being investigated by Bank Negara Malaysia for suspected offences, including illegal deposit taking, money laundering and tax evasion.

“Based on our information, there are 35,000 investors that had been detected with investments worth some RM10bil,” Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein told Datuk Ibrahim Ali (IND-Pasir Mas) during Question Time.

“We found that there was a huge gap between the deposits and the assets of the company,” he said of the investigation carried out by Bank Negara.

Ibrahim wanted to know if the government would interfere and assist the investors.

Awang Adek said the reason Bank Negara had initially allowed Genneva to operate was because it was to operate as a gold trading company.

“It is important that we do not rush and freeze the business immediately as some people have wrongly blamed us,” he said.

Among steps taken by the Finance Ministry to curb illegal deposit taking and get-rich-quick scams are through constant monitoring and based on public tip-off.

“We will also conduct raids from time to time against companies found to contravene the laws,” he said.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/31/nation/20121031133047&sec=nation