KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Askume) – Malaysian authorities have frozen nearly 100 bank accounts linked to an Islamic business group under investigation for alleged child abuse , a senior police official said on Tuesday.
Authorities are investigating Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB) for allegedly running a charity home from which police rescued more than 400 children and teenagers last week. Police said many showed signs of sexual abuse and neglect.
Police Inspector General Razaruddin Hussein told reporters that the bank accounts totaled more than 580,000 ringgit ($136,000) and that the company was being investigated for alleged money laundering and religious offences.
“We are conducting the investigation transparently and impartially while protecting the rights of those involved,” Lazaruddin said.
GISB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company initially said it did not operate any charity homes and denied all allegations of abuse, but then its chief executive said on Saturday that GISB had violated unspecified laws and that there had been “one or two” instances of sodomy in the youth home.
Lazaruddin said that out of the 96 frozen bank accounts, 4 have been closed, and the police have also seized 8 vehicles of the company.
Officials said they would summon top GISB executives to investigate the matter , which sparked outrage in Muslim-majority Malaysia and shed light on the company’s roots in a religious sect banned by the government three decades ago.
King Sultan Ibrahim, the patron of Islam in Malaysia, in a Facebook post on Tuesday called for a thorough investigation into the case and swift action against any wrongdoers.
(1 USD = 4.2750 Ringgit)
