Yesterday (4 January 2010), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) release a press statement about Illegal Foreign Currency Trading Schemes. In the statement, Bank Negara Malaysia inform public not to participate in any illegal investment or training programme on foreign currency trading offered by individuals or companies both domestic and foreign. Many people related it to forex trading but doesn't this statement sound like it also involve with coin, banknote selling and buying?
Here is the statement by Bank Negara Malaysia:
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Bank Negara Malaysia would like to caution members of the public not to participate in any illegal investment or training programme on foreign currency trading offered by individuals or companies both domestic and foreign.
Members of the public are usually enticed to attend such investment or training programmes with promises of quick and good returns. The modus operandi of such programmes have included:
- Offering free training, seminars or workshops to lure investors, prior to inviting investors to set-up an online foreign currency trading account with a principal company (purported to have valid licence to trade foreign currency overseas);
- Providing convenient access to the principal company's website and trading facilities to facilitate online foreign currency trading by investors;
- Recruitment of fresh graduates as marketing executives and encouraging them to get their family and friends to trade foreign currency; and
- Requiring investors to deposit an amount of money into a bank account to begin trading foreign currency, and subsequently, requesting for a top up on their initial investment ("margin call") to avoid losing their capital.
Under the Exchange Control Act 1953 (ECA), it is an offence for a person in Malaysia to buy or sell foreign currency or do any act which involves, is in association with, or is preparatory to, buying or selling of foreign currency with any person, other than an authorised dealer. It is also an offence for a person to aid or abet another person to buy or sell foreign currency with any person, unless the person is an authorised dealer.
The list of authorised dealers and financial institutions permitted by the Controller of Foreign Exchange to buy or sell foreign currency can be obtained from Bank Negara Malaysia's website (http://www.bnm.gov.my).
For further enquiries, members of the public can contact Bank Negara Malaysia at:
BNMTELELINK (Customer Service Call Centre)
1-300-88-5465 or
E-mail: bnmtelelink@bnm.gov.my
Bank Negara Malaysia
4 January 2010
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Bank Negara always make unclear statement for the public. There is many business involving foreign currency in this country? Which one do they mention about? Collector like me also do foreign currency collecting; buying and selling a one piece of US dollar notes by none authorised dealers will be an offence? People has been doing this thing for years. Right before I even born. Will they be catching Iraq Dinar Scam after this? That is a true scam but BNM never do anything about it. If it is about forex trading, why don't they just catch people who arrange that illegal forex trading programme? Why do we need to stop trading forex itself? When I click the list of the authorised dealers and financial institutions permitted by the Controller of Foreign Exchange, I can only see banks list.
What is it exactly Illegal Foreign Currency Trading according to Bank Negara? Do anybody know? Do BNM read my blog? Can you please reply to this matters and make it clear? Is it true that BNM has lost a big billion of ringgit in forex in the 90's?
Source: Bank Negara Malaysia
