KUALA LUMPUR, March 29 — A married couple being hunted for allegedly masterminding a foreign exchange investment or forex cheating syndicate were arrested at the KL International Airport 2 (KLIA2) on Monday.

Bukit Aman Commercial CID director Datuk Seri Amar Singh Ishar Singh said 56-year-old man and his 55-year-old wife were detained upon their return after leaving for a neighbouring country on February 11.

He said, so far, the police had arrested five main suspects from the syndicate including three men who were arrested on February 10.

"The syndicate is believed to have started in 2013 until August 2016, and an estimated 70,000 people have fallen victims,” he said at a media conference here today.

According to him, police also seized RM10.4 million worth of properties including semi-detached houses, a condominium, a shop lot and two factory lots belonging to the couple.

In addition, police also seized eight luxury cars including Mercedes Benz, Porsche Cayenne, BMW and Audi as well as 50 watches of different brands which were estimated to be valued at RM12 million.

On February 10, police detained three individuals on suspicion of involvement in the syndicate involving a loss of almost RM1 billion.

The suspects duped the victims into participating in investments under the foreign exchange concept and pulled the wool over their eyes by holding seminars in hotels, offering a 12 per cent monthly profit, using companies registered under the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and involving organisers or higher management figures with titles of ‘Datuk’.

Meanwhile, in a separate case Amar Singh said a chairman of a welfare body was among 10 people detained in Sepang on March 13 who were believed to be involved in an invalidity pension claim scam against the Social Security Organisation and insurance company involving a loss of RM1.2 million each.

He said the man, who was the main suspect, was charged in the Magistrate’s Court, in Seremban, Negri Sembilan on March 26 while several members of the syndicate were remanded and some were released on police bail. — Bernama