Malaysian police force have arrested 14 Chinese men for their interest in a Bitcoin (BTC), scam targeting investors in their home country.

Assistant Commander, Dzulkhairi Mukhatar, stated that the arrests took identify on Apr xviii, following two-months of surveillance.

All of the suspects are anile between 20 and 30, three of whom practice not accept "valid travel documents," according to the officer.

Malaysian constabulary arrest crypto scammers targeting China

The group impersonated wealthy investors and targeted victims through pop Chinese messaging applications, WeChat and QQ. "All of the suspects would then give a faux testimony to persuade the victim into investing, " said Banana Commander Mukhatar.

The detainees face charges under the Penal Code for cheating — which may carry a jail term of up to ten years, a caning, and possible fines. They may as well be charged nether the Immigration Act — which may carry fines of up to $2,300, a jail term of up to five years, and up to six strokes of whipping.

Police are nonetheless investigating the number of victims and sums of money lost to the scam.

Malaysian prime minister impersonated to peddle crypto scam

In November 2022, Malaysian police force arrested four men and one woman for drilling a hole in a physical wall connecting two buildings to steal 85 Bitcoin miners, valued at approximately $10,300 each. Police reported that the squad did not wish to sell the hardware, intending to operate information technology themselves instead.

The suspects had rented the building adjacent door to a warehouse housing a Bitcoin mining operation for one day to scope the surround earlier drilling through the wall. The five friends had no prior criminal records, and were aged between 25 and 46 years.

In July of last year, local media reported that Malaysia's then-prime number minister Mahathir bin Mohamad had been impersonated by con artists promoting a Bitcoin scam via e-mail.