Police bust large crypto-scam rings inside Malaysia's largely empty Forest City

In mid-July, Malaysian police conducted simultaneous raids on two alleged scam hubs inside the artificial island of Forest City, detaining 335 individuals and confiscating roughly one million ringgit in equipment, including hundreds of computers and mobile phones. The operations, described as cryptocurrency-based investment and love-scam call centres, were spread across 27 apartments in a residential tower and five bungalows.

Among those arrested were 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, three Malaysians and four Myanmar citizens, and investigators are working with Interpol to track the alleged ringleader. Experts say the case illustrates how organized fraud groups are adopting corporate structures, with dedicated recruitment, IT and money-laundering teams, and often recruit former operators displaced from Cambodia. Forest City, a $100 billion project originally marketed as a luxury smart city, remains largely uninhabited, providing the privacy and vacant space that scammers find attractive. Residents, some of whom have changed their names for safety, acknowledge the presence of fraudsters but say they are indifferent to the illicit activity occurring next door.