Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's son Mohd Nazifuddin has denied any involvement with Ponzi scheme Ufun Group Bhd Ltd.
The prime minister's second son said the company used his name to deceive buyers in order to encourage them to enrol in its scheme.
"I have no involvement with the group and have already warned the police, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Thai embassy of this incident when I first discovered it a couple of years back," he said in a statement.
Nazifuddin added that he resigned from the post of director and chairperson of Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd on May 31, 2012. Sagajuta had been connected to Ufun.
The Bangkok Post reported previously that Thai police estimated that Ufun, through its multi-level marketing scheme and Utoken crypto-currency, cheated some 120,000 people of a sum of up to RM4.1 billion.
Ufun members sell Utoken, a digital currency, which ostensibly could be used to pay for goods and services.
Meanwhile, Nazifuddin also denied knowing the three suspects from Malaysia with arrest warrants issued under their names; Tay Kim Leng, Lee Kuan Ming and Wong Ching Hua.
"I have never met nor spoke to these individuals before. Several arrests have already been made and the crackdown on the alleged scheme is currently ongoing.
"Both Thai and Malaysian police will cooperate in their investigations to detain the perpetrators and those involved in this scheme," he said.
Smear campaign
Nazifuddin also responded to a segment aired by Thai television station NOW 26 , currently being circulated locally via WhatsApp, which questioned whether Ufun is connected to him or otherwise.
"There is no concrete evidence in the video that suggests my involvement with Ufun (Group Bhd Ltd) and their schemes," he said.
"Someone is coordinating a libelous personal attack by viraling a Thai video of my involvement with the Ufun group in an attempt to smear my name and attack my reputation," he added.
Calling the experience "unfortunate", Nazifuddin said he had inadvertently become a victim of "cyberbullying".
"But I will not be hampered by these malicious attempts to defame and character assassinate me," he added.
Television station NOW 26 had pointed out how Ufun had invested in the Gateway Klang project of which Ufun claims to have a 30 percent stake.
"The developer of Gateway Klang - Lagenda Erajuta Sdn Bhd - is a subsidiary of Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, a real estate developer.
"Sagajuta's executive chairperson is Nazifuddin," said the show's anchors.
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