Malaysia's Ghost-City Scam Factories: How Criminals Turned a Failed Mega-Development Into a Fraud Hub
Police arrested 335 people running fake investment and romance scams out of empty apartments in Forest City, a $100 billion Malaysian development that was meant to house 700,000 people but never came close.
Key points
- Malaysian police raided Forest City in mid-July 2025, arresting 335 people across 32 premises in two separate scam operations.
- Criminals used the vacant apartments and offices to run cryptocurrency investment scams and romance fraud targeting victims in other countries.
- Seized assets included 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones and goods worth approximately one million ringgit (around $245,000).
- Forest City was launched in 2016 as a $100 billion development designed to house 700,000 residents; fewer than 5,000 people are believed to live there now.
- Authorities are working with Interpol, the international police cooperation organisation, to find the person who ran the operations.
Forest City sits on an artificial island at the very southern tip of Malaysia, less than five kilometres from Singapore. From a distance it looks impressive: dozens of identical white tower blocks rising from the coastline. Up close, the streets are quiet, the shop fronts shuttered, and a film of dust covers the furniture inside thousands of empty apartments.
That emptiness, it turns out, was exactly what the criminals needed.
How did the scams work?
Police say the fraudsters set up two call-centre operations inside the deserted complex, using them to run two types of fraud. The first was cryptocurrency investment scams, where victims abroad were persuaded to hand over money for fake digital-currency schemes that never paid out. The second was romance scams, where criminals built fake romantic relationships online before asking targets for cash.
One operation occupied 27 apartments across five floors of a residential tower. The second was spread across five bungalows. Between them, investigators seized 313 computers, 1,557 mobile phones, 17 laptops and 10 modems.
Of the 335 people arrested, 309 were Chinese nationals, 19 were Indonesian, four were from Myanmar and three were Malaysian. The Johor state police chief said authorities were working with Interpol to identify the person who organised and funded the scheme.
Why did scammers choose Forest City?
Because almost nobody is there. That is the short answer.
Forest City was unveiled in 2016 by Country Garden, one of China's largest property developers, as a futuristic eco-city that would eventually be home to 700,000 people. A combination of factors, including China's property market collapse, strict limits on money leaving China, and the disruption of the Covid pandemic, meant the project stalled. Today, residents and insiders say fewer than 5,000 people actually live there, a fraction of the original target.
| Detail | Figure |
|---|---|
| Original planned population | 700,000 |
| Estimated current population | Fewer than 5,000 |
| Premises raided | 32 |
| People arrested | 335 |
| Phones seized | 1,557 |
| Assets seized (approx.) | $245,000 (£181,810) |
John Wojcik, an analyst at TRM Labs, a firm that investigates crimes involving cryptocurrency (digital money not controlled by any government), described the appeal plainly: "Modern infrastructure, large numbers of vacant properties, and international connectivity all wrapped around the veneer of legitimate economic activity."
In plain terms, the building looks respectable from outside, the internet connection is fast, nobody is watching, and the empty flats are easy to rent without attracting questions.
Experts told the BBC, which first reported the story on the ground in Forest City, that many of the arrested individuals had previously operated out of Cambodia, which has been a major centre for this kind of industrial-scale fraud. Cambodian authorities have intensified raids over the past year, pushing criminal operations into neighbouring countries.
Should ordinary people be worried?
If you have been contacted online by someone promising exceptional investment returns, or by a new romantic interest who quickly asks for money, that contact may have come from an operation just like this one.
Neither geography nor technology makes you immune. These scams target people in many countries, in multiple languages, around the clock.
If you receive unsolicited investment offers, especially ones involving cryptocurrency, treat them with real scepticism. If an online relationship moves quickly and the other person eventually asks for money or financial help, stop and report it to your national fraud reporting service before sending anything.
Local property worker Kevin, who asked for his real name to be withheld, told reporters he believes scam operations are still running inside Forest City. "We know what they're doing," he said. "This is actually a very common issue."
