Malaysia’s Johor state police recently raided multiple online scam operations in Forest City, arresting 335 suspects, including 309 Chinese nationals, in one of the largest anti-fraud operations conducted in the area. Authorities said the suspects, aged 20 to 58, also included 19 Indonesians, four Myanmar nationals, and three Malaysians, with some found to be without valid travel documents. Police said two criminal syndicates were operating from the site, running cryptocurrency investment and romance scams that primarily targeted victims in China and Indonesia.
During the joint operation, police searched 27 apartments and five villas that had been converted into scam call centers. Authorities seized approximately US$245,000 in assets, along with fraud-related equipment valued at roughly RM1 million (about US$235,000), including 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones, 17 laptops, and 10 modems.
Forest City, a US$100 billion artificial island development built by Chinese developer Country Garden, was launched under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a flagship real estate project in Malaysia. However, the development has struggled with low occupancy and has been widely described as a “ghost city” following Country Garden’s financial crisis. As the developer became unable to continue large-scale land reclamation, the Malaysian joint-venture partner and the federal government assumed a larger role in overseeing the project’s future development.
Source: Epoch Times, July 29, 2026
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/7/29/n14819358.htm