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JOHOR BARU – Johor police stopped an investigation into wanted Malaysian billionaire Tedy Teow Wooi Huat after the case was classified as “no further action” (NFA) by the public prosecutor’s office.
State police chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat was quoted by Bernama as saying that investigations into Teow are ongoing and being carried out by Bukit Aman police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
“We have contacted Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department. The case that was investigated in Pekan Nanas is NFA even though probes into other related cases are still conducted by Bukit Aman.
“Maybe there are elements and statements that led to the prosecutors not continuing with the investigation,” he told reporters here.
On Monday, Royal Malaysia Police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin said Teow – who is MBI Group founder – is being investigated under Section 420 for cheating and is currently in the custody of Thai authorities.
“PDRM (police) are now in the application process for the individual’s repatriation to Malaysia to assist with investigations,” she said.
It was also reported that Teow was under Thai immigration custody and waiting to be deported to China.
“He is expected to be deported to China soon,” a police source told Bernama, but did not want to divulge details on when Teow will be deported.
Teow was called in for questioning by Thai police last Saturday after they raided his business empire’s headquarters in the town of Danok in southern Thailand.
He is being accused of laundering the proceeds from an online gambling venture he had set up in the border township.
MBI has assets in Danok, a once fast-growing border township, whose economic fortunes turned turtle during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected both Malaysia and Thailand as well as their cross-border tourism and trade.
Thai media have reported that the authorities there raided two MBI hotels in Danok before they summoned Teow to the district police headquarters for questioning.
MBI Group operates an entertainment complex, including a resort, on a sprawling site in Danok.
During the height of its expansion, MBI and its associates owned several hotels in Penang. – The Vibes, July 27, 2022