A prominent business couple has been accused of cheating more than 200 investors by dropping the names of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor and the Finance Ministry, among others.

MIC treasurer-general S Vell Paari, in a press conference today, revealed a 32-minute audio recording of a purported conversation between G Gnanaraja and representatives of a foreign exchange investment company.

Among the claims purportedly made by Gnanaraja was that his foundation - Yayasan Usaha Ventures Malaysia - was linked to the Finance Ministry.

Both Gnanaraja and his wife Geethanjali G however denied the allegations, saying there was “absolutely no truth” in the claims.

“We did not cheat and had never been part of such cheating. We consider such allegations to be defamatory,” the couple said in their joint statement.