MY: AMLA bites
Malaysia's strong asset seizure laws have been used to grab assets worth about RM9 million (GBP1.5) from a notorious gang of armed robbers, some of whom, including the alleged leader of the gang, have been shot dead in gun battles with police during the past year.
The so called M16 gang have been waging a long running campaign of violent robberies over a period of about three years, although police express some concern that some offences may have been committed by copycat gangs. Late in 2002 an armed gang, believed to be members of the M16 gang, drove into one of Malaysia's largest shopping malls and terrified shoppers by releasing shots from assault weapons.
Shortly thereafter police raided the gang's hideout and a large scale gun battle ensued.
But alongside the investigation leading to the arrest of some members, it has now emerged that the police were working to identify the assets both used by the gang and in which they invested.
And yesterday, the police announced their success. They have identified and seized assets, bags of gold, houses and commercial properties which they allege are the proceeds of robbery and a range of other offences. The federal commercial crime department have been tracking money they say was invested in a range of properties and businesses. The police claim to have also uncovered evidence that the gang was involved in illegal money lending both within and outside Malaysia.
Business operations raided by the police included an electrical goods shop, a hairdresser's salon, a snooker centre and a seafood business. Other alleged assets include car accessory shops and goldsmiths shops. The gang accumulated so much wealth that they were able to pass themselves off as wealthy and established businessmen, say police sources.
The cars seized include a number of expensive foreign vehicles.
One of the gang is alleged to be a career criminal involved in a large robbery at a Malaysian branch of The Bank of Tokyo in 1985.
Download PDF version of this page