KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), on Monday raided four companies running online get-rich-quick schemes that claim to have mustered hundreds of thousands of members and are believed to have sucked in millions of ringgit in deposits.

The Malay-language Utusan Malaysia reported that raids were conducted at several locations in the Klang Valley. The firms are suspected of having accepted deposits without a licence and made illegal investments in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

A BNM press release said action was taken after complaints were received from the public.

According to information available on the companies' websites, the firms typically required a minimum deposit of RM1,000 (S$420) before members could get in on the action.

The companies claimed to be involved in a range of business activities, including advertising, tourism and the service industry.

A BNM statement said the four companies offered investment schemes that they claimed were related to foreign-exchange dealings, commodity futures, offshore investments and other dealings, reported Utusan Malaysia.

But it was all an invention, according to BNM.

One of the companies, Buluhmas Enterprise Private Limited - based in Tanjung Karang, Selangor - claims that 700,000 members from around the country have put down a deposit.

When my paper checked its website yesterday, a notice had been posted to say that investigations by BNM would be concluded within 90 days. During that time, the registering of new "promoters" would be postponed, "while other activities will continue as normal".

Another of the companies, Jazmeen (M) Private Limited, claims on its website that, with capital of RM1,000, depositors could receive a return of 120 per cent within the first 12 months, with escalating profits in succeeding years.

The other two companies the BNM raided are Noradz Travel and Service Private Limited and Eastana Farm Industries Private Limited.

There is no information on whether the companies have foreign depositors.

BNM, in its statement, added that its raids were conducted only after the activities of the four companies had been probed by its special investigative unit.

"All of the organisers of the investment schemes will be held after BNM records their statements on suspicion of taking deposits without a licence and engaging in money-laundering activities," the BNM statement read.

A BNM spokesman told Utusan Malaysia that the actual number of members affected and the total value of deposits collected by the four companies can be known only after the case is brought to court, which would be in the shortest possible time.

For taking deposits illegally, the company owners face fines of up to RM10 million and 10-year jail terms.

For money-laundering, RM5 million fines or jail terms of up to five years may be meted out.

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