KUALA LUMPUR: Police have busted a black money syndicate following the arrests of 10 men, who were operating in the city centre.

Operating for more than a year, the syndicate has been conning victims with the promise of tripling their "investment".

"The syndicate would conduct a demonstration of washing ringgit notes, which would 'magically' turn into US dollars.

"To further convince their victims, the syndicate would then ask them to change the dollar notes at a money changer to prove its authenticity," Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Mazlan Lazim said on Monday.

The first few dollar notes would be authentic but the rest of the investment, which could amount to as much as RM400,000, were fakes notes, he added.

The victim would then be persuaded into paying for the chemical solution used to "wash" the money.

The syndicate's ruse was uncovered when a 45-year-old man reported the scam to the police after suspecting something amiss.

"He almost fell for the scam after he verified the authenticity of US$500 recently 'washed' by the syndicate.

"He was planning to invest RM300,000 but luckily, a friend of his warned him that it was a scam and later lodged a report on the matter," he said.

Comm Mazlan said police raided hotel rooms in Kuala Lumpur and Puchong, Selangor, on Jan 10 and arrested the syndicate members – four Indonesians, four from Siera Leonne, and one each from Guinea and Palestine, aged between 28 and 49.

"We believe they were also responsible for three cases of black money scams last year, with losses amounting to RM427,000.

"They are preying on the greed of their victims. People must remember there is no such thing as easy money," he stressed.

Two packages filled with fake US$100 notes and other items used for the black money demonstration were also seized, added Comm Mazlan.

He also urged anyone with information on black money scams to call the Kuala Lumpur police hotline at 03-2115 9999 or the police operations centre at 03-2146 0522 (extension 584/585).