This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 17, 2025 - November 23, 2025

BANK Negara Malaysia has issued a special memo to capital market intermediaries instructing them to run checks on certain companies and individuals, a move believed to be part of an intensifying investigation into money flows suspected to be linked to the long-running MBI (Mobility Beyond Imagination) pyramid scheme. 

At least three intermediaries — including stockbroking and fund management firms — have confirmed to The Edge on condition of anonymity that they have received the memo.

Bank Negara is understood to be working closely with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in a joint task force on the probe.

The notice instructs financial institutions, banks, stockbroking houses and fund managers to run checks on a list of more than 100 companies and individuals through the Financial Intelligence System Access (FINS), which is administered by the central bank’s financial intelligence and enforcement department.

The list is said to include those with substantial interests or connections to Bursa Malaysia-listed entities as well as firms based in Penang.

The intermediaries are required to report whether any of those named are their clients and, if so, to disclose information on their clients’ source of funds and investment activities.

“Basically, the task force wants to track the flow of money — and whether any of it has found its way into the local capital markets,” says one industry source familiar with the matter.

While the memo itself does not specifically mention MBI, market observers believe it may be linked to ongoing investigations into the scheme, which the authorities are said to be “going deep” on.

FINS is a web-based application used by reporting institutions — such as banks, stockbroking houses, fund managers and other financial entities — to fulfil their mandatory reporting obligations under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA).

The system facilitates the submission and collection of information such as reports on suspicious transactions and large cash transactions that exceed certain thresholds. It also serves as a secure communication channel for Bank Negara to disseminate information, updates and instructions regarding anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) policies and issues.

The Bank Negara memo, sent in recent weeks, appears to be part of a coordinated effort to trace suspicious money trails through capital market channels, as authorities broaden their scrutiny of financial flows involving individuals and companies under the task force’s radar.

The MBI — a get-rich-quick pyramid scheme founded by Tedy Teow Wooi Huat — has long been on the authorities’ watch list for massive financial fraud and unauthorised digital currency dealings.

Teow, a Penang native, is currently under detention in China for operating MBI using unauthorised digital coins known as M-Coins.

The scheme, which started in 2012, attracted hundreds of investors from Malaysia and beyond — including China — before collapsing in 2018.

In 2017, Bank Negara led a multi-agency raid on MBI for its dealings in the unapproved digital currency. Despite the crackdown, Teow reportedly continued running the operation from Danok, Thailand, until his arrest in 2022.

He was then extradited to China in August 2024, where he was charged with defrauding about two million Chinese nationals — out of a total of 10 million victims worldwide — of a staggering RMB500 billion.

The Royal Malaysian Police began an intensified crackdown on the MBI scheme in March this year, following pressure from the Chinese authorities to trace and recover billions in lost funds. Up to August, at least 19 people had been arrested in connection with the probe.

The first wave of arrests took place in March, when police apprehended eight Malaysians — seven men and one woman — associated with the scheme. As investigations escalated, more suspects were detained in April and subsequently in July and August. Among those remanded were a few high-profile individuals holding the titles of “Datuk”, “Datuk Seri” and “Tan Sri”.

The crackdown had resulted in the seizure and freezing of about RM6.6 billion worth of assets believed to be linked to the scheme, according to news reports citing the police in August. At the time, the authorities also said investigations could be concluded by October.

Among the assets seized were bank accounts and share trading accounts, properties,  including plantation land in Kedah, Penang and Kelantan, luxury yachts and businesses. The assets are believed to have been purchased or connected to the proceeds from the scheme’s illegal gains. 

These arrests and asset seizures followed a series of cross-border raids in March under Operation Northern Star, which was initiated based on a Red Notice from Interpol.

Industry players say the recent Bank Negara memo could be part of this coordinated effort to follow the money trail across borders and within Malaysia’s financial system to determine whether any funds from MBI-linked parties have been channelled into the local markets or legitimate investment vehicles.

While the extent of the probe remains unclear, the involvement of both Bank Negara and MACC under the AMLA framework suggests a serious attempt to map financial linkages, not just among individuals directly associated with MBI, but also their families, related entities and affiliates.

For now, capital market players appear to be treading cautiously as they comply with the request. Several other firms contacted declined to comment, citing confidentiality obligations.

Nevertheless, the memo’s circulation across multiple intermediaries has raised eyebrows not only within the financial industry but also in corporate circles and the business community in Penang, given the breadth of names involved and the task force’s growing scrutiny.

As at press time, Bank Negara and MACC had yet to respond to The Edge’s queries on the matter. 

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