Bukit Aman Reveals That Commercial Crimes Up 53.2% In Five Years

The Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) has stated that commercial crime has seen a surge in the past five years, increasing by 53.2% and leading to  estimated losses of RM14.33 billion.

According to CCID’s director Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, the increase of commercial crimes is caused by technological advances and the global growth of telecommunications, which allowed criminals to come up with new methods to scam people.

“Technological advances are directly connected to the spike in commercial crimes. Based on records, these cases keep increasing every year.

“Commercial crime cases recorded in 2023 rose by 53.2% compared to five years ago,” he said during a press conference at the CCID on Thursday.

According to a report from The Edge, the losses incurred due to commercial crime were recorded at RM6.217 billion (26,330 cases) in 2019, RM2.064 billion (27,323 cases) in 2020, RM2.206 billion (31,490 cases) in 2021, RM1.733 billion (30,536 cases) in 2022, and RM2.11 billion (40,350 cases) in 2023.

Ramli also stated in the press conference that the CCID is currently working to increase their numbers this year, due to the fact that they were struggling with a lack of manpower to handle the surge in commercial crimes.

Ramli stated that the current ratio of investigating officers to investigation papers is at 1:48, which is less than ideal as it means that one investigating officer will have to work on 48 cases per year.

Out of the 40,350 cases recorded in 2023, as many as 22,911 arrests were made.

The case breakdown of the 40,350 cases is as follows;

Fraud – 36,030 cases with a loss value of RM1.679 billion

Criminal breach of trust (CBT) – 1,215 cases with a loss value of RM380 million

Cases under the Moneylenders Act – 994 cases with a loss value of RM5.4 million

Counterfeit banknotes – 970 cases with a loss value of RM385 million

Cyber crimes – 867 cases with a loss value of RM35.63 million

Forgery – 138 cases with a loss value of RM6.87 million

Misappropriation of property – 47 cases with a loss value of RM2.54 million, and

Other cases – 89 cases with a loss value of RM803 million.