The MBI Pyramid Scheme: Its Unfinished Aftermath, Eight Years On

Eight years after the MBI investment scheme collapsed, Malaysian authorities are only now lifting the veil on the true scale of one of the region‘s most damaging financial frauds. In a special session of Parliament on 22 January, the government disclosed that assets worth billions of ringgit linked to the scheme had been seized or frozen, while confirming active cooperation with Chinese authorities to build cases against those responsible, including the scheme’s founder, Tedy Teow Wooi Huat.

For millions of victims, the announcement was long overdue. Since 2019, investors have been pressing for decisive action, warning that delays would erode any chance of meaningful recovery. While Malaysian victims remained largely silent, Chinese investors travelled to Malaysia to stage peaceful protests, demanding accountability and restitution. Their calls went unanswered for years, until a large-scale police operation last year led to the arrest of 23 individuals, including several high-profile figures with titles of Tan Sri, Datuk Seri and Datuk.

Read the previously reported news here:

MBI Ponzi Scam Crackdown: Tan Sri Arrested & RM6.65 Billion Asset Seized

Malaysia’s most explosive financial scandal is reaching its climax, as Tan Sri elites are hauled in, RM6.65 billion in wealth is seized and the once-untouchable MBI empire collapses amid a widening global crackdown.

News 2026-01-23

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According to the Finance Ministry, authorities have identified RM7.85 billion in cash and assets connected to MBI. This includes RM6.65 billion already frozen or forfeited and a further RM1.25 billion in properties linked to Teows family. The figures sound substantial, but when set against the estimated 11 million victims across multiple countries, the reality is sobering. Even a full recovery and equal distribution would leave each investor with less than RM750.

That amount bears little resemblance to what many put in. Investors were drawn by promises of extraordinary returns, committing sums far above the minimum entry levels of US$100 in China and US$1,000 in Penang. MBIs structure, a maze of overlapping pyramid schemes, allowed funds to be moved rapidly through multiple accounts. After nearly a decade, tracing those flows has become a race against time, with every delay reducing the likelihood of recovery.

The MBI case is not an isolated failure. It mirrors earlier scandals that emerged during periods of rising asset prices. In 2012, as gold prices surged, Genneva Malaysia collapsed under the weight of an unsustainable gold investment scheme. The company attracted thousands by offering monthly returns of up to 3%, funded not by trading profits but by new investor money.

Bank Negara Malaysia later found that Genneva‘s liabilities exceeded its assets by more than ten times. When authorities intervened, nearly RM100 million in cash was frozen, and 126 kilograms of gold were seized. At today’s prices, the gold alone would be worth more than RM85 million, yet still nowhere near enough to meet outstanding obligations, including undelivered gold and unpaid redemptions.

A recent High Court ruling ordering Genneva and three former directors to pay damages to investors has rekindled hope. But enforcement remains uncertain. More than a decade after the collapse, the directors face prison terms, the company is insolvent, and much of the money has likely vanished.