The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court yesterday convicted Afkariah Md Norani of four charges under section 179(b) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 for defrauding four individuals and sentenced her to imprisonment for a period of six months and a total fine of RM4 million.
Sessions Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Kamal Arifin Ismail ordered the imprisonment terms imposed for the four charges to run concurrently. Afkariah is also to serve a further four months jail in default of the total of RM4 million fine.
Afkariah, 49, who was charged by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) on 13 February 2020 pleaded guilty and admitted to defrauding four individuals of a total of RM50,000. The victims were duped into investing in an investment scheme which was purportedly guaranteed by RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHBIBB) and promised monthly dividend payments of 2% to 3%. The investment scheme never existed and the monies paid by the investors were in fact deposited into Afkariah’s share trading account at RHBIBB and used for her personal share transactions.
Members of the public are reminded to be vigilant of investment schemes promising unusually high returns. Where such schemes are purportedly linked to licensed intermediaries, investors are advised to verify the legitimacy of such schemes with the licensed intermediary concerned or with the SC.