'Up to $4b' pumped into Genneva gold scheme
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KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - A gold-trading business shut down this month by the Malaysian authorities for suspected illegalities may have raised as much as RM10 billion (S$4 billion) from its clients, a government official said on Wednesday.
The authorities raided trading firm Genneva Malaysia on October 1 on suspicion of taking deposits illegally, money-laundering and tax evasion, and later expanded the crackdown to three other firms.
The raids have sparked anger from thousands of clients of such firms, who have petitioned the authorities to let operations continue and have threatened to hold anti-government demonstrations over the issue.
But the authorities have defended the crackdown, and Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Husin told lawmakers on Wednesday that Genneva Malaysia alone had taken in some RM10 billion from customers.
