GEORGE TOWN (Aug 15): The crackdown on individuals and firms linked to the defunct MBI pyramid scheme has continued, with a Penang developer and two public-listed companies’ top executives recently arrested for questioning.

Sources told The Edge that Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime team arrested the two top executives at their offices in George Town and Kuala Lumpur, while the developer was arrested at a luxury home in George Town.

The public-listed company in Kuala Lumpur is involved in providing telecommunication equipment services, while the other is a Penang-based property group.

The Penang-based developer was a well-known personality in Penang in the 1990s, having developed numerous landmark projects on the island and the mainland.

Sources said the caretakers of a durian orchard on the island were also arrested.

The suspects have been sent to Bukit Aman for questioning.

The police are expected to detain more individuals for questioning over the next couple of weeks.

MBI drew hundreds of millions in deposits from investors as far as China who were promised lucrative returns. The MBI scheme collapsed in Penang in 2018 but continued in Danok in Thailand for a few more years until mastermind Tedy Teow was arrested in 2022.

At that time, MBI’s money was primarily evident in the property sector, particularly in Penang and Kedah. In Penang, MBI was closely related to Ivory Properties Group Bhd. Teow and his family were investors in Ivory’s cornerstone project — the Penang Times Square development.