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 dust coats the furniture inside thousands of empty apartments.
That emptiness 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. One ran cryptocurrency investment scams, persuading victims abroad to hand over money for fake digital-currency schemes. The other 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 and 17 laptops.
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.
Forest City was unveiled in 2016 by Country Garden, one of China's largest property developers, as a futuristic eco-city eventually home to 700,000 people. China's property market collapse, strict limits on capital leaving the country, and the Covid pandemic stalled the project. Fewer than 5,000 people actually live there now, according to residents and insiders, against an original target of 700,000.
| 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: "Modern infrastructure, large numbers of vacant properties, and international connectivity all wrapped around the veneer of legitimate economic activity."
The building looks respectable from outside, the internet connection is reliable, and 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 those arrested had previously operated out of Cambodia, a major centre for industrial-scale fraud. As Cambodian authorities intensified raids over the past year, criminal operations shifted into neighbouring countries. We reported on that displacement on 30 July in "Southeast Asia's Fraud Factories Have Gone Global", which placed the industry's cost at up to $114 billion in 2025.
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 like this one.
Geography offers no protection. These scams run around the clock, target people across many countries, and operate in multiple languages. Treat unsolicited cryptocurrency investment offers with real scepticism. If an online relationship moves fast and ends with a request for money, report it to your national fraud 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."
The thing worth watching here is the pattern, not the single raid. Forest City is the third Southeast Asian location we've reported on in as many weeks where a displacement from Cambodia has filled vacant or under-policed space with fraud infrastructure. The arrests are real, but so is the industry's ability to move faster than any one crackdown.
