Crime & Courts

13 Japanese Detained By Malaysian Authorities Over Fraud; Accused of Impersonating Japan Police to Fool Victims

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Buildings used as bases by fraudsters are seen in eastern Myanmar in January.

By Tetsuya Mizuno / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

13:57 JST, June 9, 2025

BANGKOK — Thirteen Japanese nationals were detained in May by Malaysian police during raids on two facilities operated by fraudsters in Kuala Lumpur and elsewhere, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

According to Malaysian police, a total of 19 suspects, including Japanese and Chinese nationals, were detained in the raids.

The suspects allegedly pretended to be officers with the Osaka prefectural police, sending online messages to targets in Japan and getting them to transfer cash. They are believed to have used this method and other similar scams for about two months.

Many personal computers and mobile phones were found in the raids, local police said, as were clothes resembling the uniforms of Japanese police officers and script-like documents.

There has been a series of cases in Southeast Asia in which Japanese and other foreign nationals have been detained by local police during raids on bases for fraudsters.

In eastern Myanmar bordering Thailand, a large number of foreigners, including Japanese, were found to have participated in scams. In Poipet in northwestern Cambodia, 29 Japanese were detained late last month.