KUALA LUMPUR: A 43-year-old Nigerian and his 41-year-old Malaysian wife have been detained in connection with an email scam involving RM3.9mil in losses.

       Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) Comm Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said police believed the suspects were responsible for the scam, better known as business email compromise (BEC).

       “We received a report on June 8 from a businessman based in Dubai, who was targeted by the scammers.

       “His company had dealt with a US-based company over the purchase of 41,000 tonnes of cement. We believe the suspects had hacked the email of the US company and instructed the victims to transfer RM3.9mil to a ‘mule’ Malaysian bank account they controlled,” he said at CCID headquarters yesterday.

       A CCID team detained the two suspects in Semenyih on Monday, he said. The two have been remanded for four days.

       “We seized a Mercedes Benz, a Proton Exora, six mobile phones, two laptops, jewellery and several documents. We also froze RM1.8mil in the mule account,” he said.

       The police are now tracing the remainder of the lost funds, he added.

       “We believe the mastermind of the syndicate is based in Nigeria. We are tracking down other members of the syndicate in Malaysia,” Comm Mohd Kamarudin said.