KUALA LUMPUR (April 3): Steel products maker Mayu Global Group Bhd (KL:MAYU) said its executive director Tan Kim Hee has been detained by the police.

He was held by Bukit Aman police on April 2 to assist in an ongoing investigation, said the group, formerly known as Atta Global Group Bhd, in a bourse filing.

Mayu Global said it has not been informed whether the probe is related to the group, and the nature of the investigation remains unknown.

"Based on current assessment, this investigation is not expected to have a material financial or operational impact on Mayu group," it added.  

Mayu Global said its remaining executive directors, Goh Chin Heng, Chow Choon Hoong and Tan Qian Hui, will temporarily assume Kim Hee’s roles and responsibilities to ensure continuity of the group's operations.

Kim Hee was appointed to the board of Mayu Global as a non-independent non-executive director in March 2018. He was re-designated as an executive director in February 2020, according to the group's 2024 annual report.

He is the father of Qian Hui, the group executive director. Kim Hee is also a substantial shareholder, holding a 11.095% stake in the group.

Kim Hee is also reported to be the brother-in-law of MBI Group founder Tedy Teow Wooi Huat.

The Edge reported last week that police are believed to have called up several corporate figures in Kuala Lumpur and Penang as part of their investigation into the money trail of the now-defunct pyramid scheme MBI.

The operation, conducted by Bukit Aman’s Anti-Money Laundering Division, had resulted in the seizure of documents related to property and share transactions involving MBI-linked entities, including Bayan Mutiara development in Penang.  

This is the first major police operation on MBI and its money trail, following months of investigations on the money trail. Sources said the operations were carried out directly from Bukit Aman and caught many in the state by surprise.

MBI was a pyramid scheme based in Penang that traded digital coins not sanctioned by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). At one stage, MBI allegedly collected several billions from investors, including depositors from China. However, the scheme collapsed in 2018 following a raid by BNM, leaving thousands of depositors without recourse, with only RM177 million frozen from MBI Group International’s account.  

The collapse of MBI also sparked legal action and protests from Chinese depositors, some of whom travelled to Kuala Lumpur to seek the return of their investments. Meanwhile, Teow fled to Thailand in 2019 but was arrested in 2022. He was extradited to China in August 2024.

Mayu Global recorded a net profit of RM2.01 million for the six months ended June 30, 2025, compared with a net loss of RM1.32 million in the same period of 2024, on the back of lower operating expenses.  Half-year revenue declined 12.8% to RM40.42 million from RM46.33 million previously.

Mayu Global’s share price closed unchanged at 19.5 sen, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM94 million.

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