Finance:JJPTR
JJ Poor to Rich (commonly abbreviated as JJPTR; Chinese: 解救普通人; pinyin: Jiějiù Pǔtōng Rén; literally: 'Saving ordinary people') was a Ponzi scheme based in Penang, Malaysia that operated from 2015 until its collapse in April 2017.[1][2] Marketed as a foreign-exchange trading programme, it promised investors a fixed monthly return of 20 percent on contributions of between US$25 and US$1,000.[1] The scheme was founded by Lee Chong Sen, better known as Johnson Lee.
At its height, it was described as one of Malaysia's biggest "money game" operators, and its investors were reported to include people in China, Thailand, and other Asian countries.[3] The Central Bank of Malaysia had placed JJPTR and related entities on its Financial Consumer Alert List in February 2017,[4] and Singapore's Monetary Authority had placed the scheme on its Investor Alert List in August 2016.[5]
In April 2017, the company claimed that its trading accounts was hacked and they had suffered loses of around $400 million.[2] Police said they found no evidence that the accounts had been hacked.[6] Malaysian authorities estimated that about 400,000 people had invested in the scheme, and that most of them did not recover their money.[2] In May 2017, the authorities raided eight JJPTR offices in Penang, where Lee and two associates were arrested.[7] In September 2017, they were charged with cheating,[8] a charge that was later discharged not amounting to an acquittal.[9] In 2018, Lee pleaded guilty to making a false declaration to the Companies Commission of Malaysia and was fined RM18,000,[10] and in January 2024 the Federal Court upheld the forfeiture of more than RM11.3 million in cash and assets linked to him.[11] He has since promoted other ventures such as cryptocurrency.[12]
See also
- List of Ponzi schemes
- List of scandals in Malaysia
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Investors may lose RM500mil". The Star. 25 April 2017. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/04/25/investors-may-lose-rm500mil-reported-collapse-of-money-game-firm-causing-distress/.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Cover Story: The return of money games". The Edge Malaysia. 17 October 2022. https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/cover-story-return-money-games.
- ↑ Wang, Gaofei (26 April 2017). "马来西亚惊爆特大投资骗局 不少中国人被拉下水" (in zh). China Radio International. https://news.cri.cn/20170426/e47e60f2-294e-4632-449f-35e38c4573bf.html.
- ↑ "Financial Consumer Alert List". Bank Negara Malaysia. https://www.bnm.gov.my/financial-consumer-alert-list.
- ↑ "Investor Alert List". Monetary Authority of Singapore. https://www.mas.gov.sg/investor-alert-list.
- ↑ "JJPTR founder Johnson Lee still in Malaysia, say police". Free Malaysia Today. 3 July 2017. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/07/03/jjptr-founder-johnson-lee-still-in-malaysia-say-police/.
- ↑ "JJPTR founder lying low for safety reasons, says lawyer". Free Malaysia Today. 27 May 2017. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/05/27/jjptr-founder-lying-low-for-safety-reasons-says-lawyer.
- ↑ Hamdan, Nur Baiti (26 September 2017). "JJPTR founder, two others charged with cheating". The Star. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/09/26/jjptr-founder-two-others-charged-with-cheating/.
- ↑ "JJ Power Groups Enterprise & Ors v Public Prosecutor [2025 5 MLJ 197"]. https://monco.my/jj-power-groups-enterprise-ors-v-public-prosecutor-2025-5-mlj-197/.
- ↑ "JJPTR founder fined RM18,000". The Star. 13 April 2018. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/04/13/defunct-jjptr-founder-fined-rm18000.
- ↑ "Federal Court upholds forfeiture of RM11.3mil in assets by govt". Free Malaysia Today. 4 January 2024. https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/01/04/federal-court-upholds-forfeiture-of-rm11-3mil-in-assets-by-govt.
- ↑ Cheng, Yunxing (19 September 2023). "JJPTR创办人李宗圣疑重出江湖 跑透全马宣传虚拟货币交易" (in zh). Oriental Daily News. https://www.orientaldaily.com.my/news/nation/2023/09/19/597753.
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