Busting a billion dollar British scammer cartel | Part 1 of 2 | 7NEWS Spotlight Documentary
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- čas přidán 15. 05. 2023
- In the most explosive investigation of the year, 7NEWS Spotlight’s award-winning broadcaster Liam Bartlett busts open a billion-dollar British crime cartel that is fleecing Australians of more than $4 million each and every week.
The staggeringly sophisticated crime syndicate, run by British con artists with the backing of Russian mafia, has been targeting Aussie investors they have cruelly dubbed “mugs with money”, safe in the knowledge authorities here can’t - or won’t - touch them.
In the joint expose with investigative reporter Ross Coulthart, Bartlett will take viewers inside “Operation Tropicana” led by Australian fraud and cybercrime specialist Ken Gamble and his IFW Global operatives.
Across 24 simultaneous raids, in association with Malaysia’s anti-crime commission, the scam busters make more than 80 arrests, including Brit king pin Andy Peters, aka “Peg Leg”, who lived a life of luxury at the expense of duped Australians.
Bartlett said: “I have been embedded with crime fighting groups from various countries over the years, but this operation was on a scale like no other. As it turned out, it needed to be. The criminal syndicate was the biggest scamming group ever to be raided by any global authority.
“The results spectacularly demonstrate the abject failure of our Federal Police to act effectively against the scourge of this ever-increasing threat to Aussie consumers; and we have to demand that things are done better,” he said.
It is a 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive every Australian must see.
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#scam #7news #documentary
Documentaries like this should be televised in every country at least once a month. It would educate and prepare people for new kind of scams to watch out for.
Problem is that most of ths ppl being scamed,have no clue on internett.
Motlys old women 70+,and they feel ashamed.
Yes to let you thickos...my dad just said to me you give no-one your money
4 degrees no common sense
T not orientation. 9
I agree
I am an Australian. So proud of Spotlight Australia! Well done!
Disgusting how much misery these evil people cause and how inept Australian authorities have been.
Authorities? The people in general.
Peeps don't want their privacy invaded,,, these peeps are outside the country... what do you do... have surveillance on all communication ? nanny state everything... so you are monitored down to what you flush . down the toilet and when you brush your teeth? awareness campaigns so peeps that have access to the internet etc .. are given free voluntary training programs by the signals department of australia or similiar... imho that last would be a good investment in taxpayers cash... ie how to protect your pc, phone.. what to look out for etc etc ... ie raise the game of average joe
Its not inept it's turning a blind eye . They make a story for under the table and you are fair game . You can catch them but you'll never get anything done about it cause the response is it never happened .
I'm in USA and happened to stumble across the spotlights taking down the scammers! Thank you for your great work and coverage..
Isn't the internet great for that?!
Which is one reason why that weasel Rupert Murdoch sabotaged one of Australia's biggest infrastructure projects: The National Broadband Network (NBN)
@@user-pl4su8ts4j are you an A.I. bot?
please do a follow-up piece on how these scammers are getting on after a year in jail. thanks.
Are these the same people, Andrew Mark Peters and Darren Anthony McNicholas, who only received 6 month sentences for scamming? If so: that's a joke.
No ceasefires in Gaza Hamas are terrorists
Beautiful work. The rest of the world needs to get on board to stop these huge crime syndicates.
yes, agree.
These are the new international organized crime, helped by the internet and crypto.
Are you kidding Canada does not investigate these BLOKE'$$$
@@human8750 particularly the Philippines ..the worst of the worst operating Boiler rooms there . !
true
Time for all governments to get serious about this problem.
Governments DO IT LEAGALLY ALL OF SHT
@@simonroberts960 The scammers were only taken down because the Government don't like competition.
Governments scam us
Spotlight is a very brave at bringing scammers to justice. They did what the Australian authorities should have done themselves in the first place. The media brought the scammers to justice with no fanfare only shearing with the public when it was all over with no excuses or apologises
Try again, but in English this time.
It's a bit hard to bring these scammers to justice especially in another country India is one of the worst place to get anyone arrested and there are more scammers there than anywhere else I watch scammer payback online American named Pierogi is the big boss and he is so passionate about what he does ive seen tears in his eyes when he hasn't been able to help someone in time. I agree with you about more should be done here in Aus but we need to help ourselves because our Gvt won't or can't
I'll
@@jade7249
Greed! If it seems too good to be true it's a scam.😢
Well done. Keep bringing these people to justice. Crime does not pay!!
Either does stupidity.
Seemingly pays very well, unfortunately. And our federal police do nothing to stop it
Impressive how Spotlight was able to get the scoop and 'capture' the raid. Nice work.
they should highlight that the scammers' building just right in front of the one of the Malaysia's biggest news company
Congrats MACC. I'm Malaysian and I'm ashamed this happened from our beloved country. May all the victims get justice and all the scammers put in jail for a long time.
Why should you be ashamed? There are scammers in every country.
Malaysian. From my experience a lady from Malaysia has got more of a heart than the people in Australia..I used to be a bum sitting in the city streets. And she didn't like how I was a dirty man sitting in the street. While most people would walk straight past me
The bosses got 6 months…and a rm100k fine (AU$33k)
@@alvinwibawa that's shocking. They should be in prison for life
@@JT-de9wx A lot of the men in the Malaysian prison haven't seen women for ages. A white fair skin dude like him will be a great desert for them.
That Brit Ian made me feel ashamed to be British!! Sorry to all the victims ,I promise you we are not all like them low lives that stole your money. Hope that get what they deserve 🙏
if you vote and pay taxes, you're a criminal.
Shame on the Australian government 😕
Australian government is to focused on the Voice and doing there job .
@@kevinbrown2445their not there. Educate yourself.
For what?
There's hundreds of these boiler rooms in the Phillipines unfortunately the authorties are as Corrupt as the Scammers.
The authorities in these other countries are just as bad as the scammers they are probably getting paid to turn a blind eye dirty mungrals 😡
Its a shame that the Australian Government is lacking. Congratulations to 7news & of course the excellent work of Malaysia’s anti-crime commission , I cannot even imagen how much work, investigating and planning that went into putting this together. This is Journalism at its very best & the reason that we too need to be support Journalism, Thanks.
oh really, check out what the two king pins got for jail time and a fine. Makes for good TV but is basically gaslighting the public. White-collar crimes pays in Malaysia just as it does else where.
It's Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)..... not anti-crime.... and the "anti-crime" boys may also be implicated 😅
Channel 7 are a joke they jumped on the band wagon because it's been popular on CZcams for a decade, channel 7 is right wing biased spew I wouldn't watch there crap if I was paid.. Ask channel 7 about saving the environment and fracking you'll be banned from there socials like myself quicker than 17 mins of ads on 30 min news broadcast
Great job! Wake up call to all authorities around the world to be more vigilant on scamming. This is going on everywhere. I feel for these people who loose all their life savings.
This is a great day and justice for innocent Australians who have been duped in the most elaborate scam of all time. I am also speaking representing my Malaysian friends who have also fallen into this scam. (although much warnings have been given but greed conquers all) Unfortunately, these scammers knows "bits and pieces" of tactics on how to hide below radar with the assistance of some corrupted Malaysian officials as well. (I sincerely hope that these corrupted officials are caught soon)
I am so proud of MACC (backed up by special forces from various branches) for making Malaysia proud and respected. I am sure, by now, more trails of money have been discovered - possibly laundered in projects, various industries, black market, money exchange, FOREX, properties and so much more. Of course, we can't eliminate everything but at least we have crippled them serve to send a strong message to all other so-called sophisticated scammers not to mess around with the Malaysian authorities.
Congratulations again to : Liam, Michael, the unsung hero Andre and many more. Including Malaysian Immigration, Malaysia Communication and Multimedia Commission, Malaysia Cyber Security, Telekom Malaysia, Company Commission of Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Inland Revenue/Income Tax Board.
My hats off to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission.
BLACK DOLLAR SCAM.
Wow! It was so satisfying to watch. Great job and thank you on behalf of victims 👍👍👍👍👍
Less satisfying when you learn the facts regarding the criminal charges, see my above comment. I've seen people get harsher sentences and fines for impaired driving.
😅😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢v v. V 😅. 😅
😢😢😢 😅. 😅. V. V. V. 😅. 😅v. V. V. Vvv v. V. 😅😅v
😢😢😢😢 😅 butv😅😅 vvv vv v. Vv vvv vv v vv v vv vvv vv😅v😅 vvv vv vvv vv vvv vv vvv vv v vv
Vv😅 v. 😅
Well done! Good job guys. So satisfying to watch being a recent victim of losing 30k.
Thank you for your great work and I hope this is just a beginning of taking all those companies down one by one!
Am really sorry for such big loss , invest in what you can see in future
@@k-graphicsdesign9474 definitely lesson learned, unfortunately the hard way.
Great documentary by channel 7 spotlight.. Job well done by Malaysians & Australians collaborations. Keep up.
Awesome documentary
Please please don’t tell me that in a few months these pathetic creatures have lawered up and are back on the streets. My biggest fear is that they will work with corrupt officials and find a way to avoid the punishment they so deserve.
The chances they get out are big , mate, lots of scammers in Malaysia that walk around freely. U paint the picture how corrupted the country is...
Exactly what I was thinking. All the arrests I’ve seen of scammers on various sites they are out with impunity within days, never see punishment. Then they start up somewhere else,
Off topic for this video. But another scam is Africans contacting the lonely older generation on Facebook and other sites. Or the older generation going on websites to connect with other lonely people. The Africans, usually from Nigeria, use pictures they find online of younger white handsome men or beautiful women pretending to be them. Then they will start asking for money, that they have a sick child, stuck in another country, or they are going to fly to see them but they can’t get their passport or airline ticket. Of course this happens after they have love bombed these naive older men or women, who do not understand technology, usually. They ask for gift cards, etc. If you know anyone risking this, share CZcams channel Catfished. It’s astounding that mostly elderly women send their hard earned savings and retirement to these scumbags!!!
I don't think so. When the evidence is that big and being put to the media. It's hard to let them walk around freely just like that.
@@mikehoncho83 But the real culprits are the *" effin'"* Brits from the biggest *" effin'"* bandit country in human history. Hope you don't forget that.
FORCE THEM TO SHOW THEIR FACES FOR THE WORLD TO SEE, FINALLY THEY DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT IT WAS ABOUT TIME
Australia should have requested extradition of these scammers, they can easily buy their freedom with money and connections here in Malaysia.
"Im retired, I've got properties"
From what?
Umh umh I'm self employed 😂😂😂
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
CONGRATULATIONS! TO YOU, THE ENTIRE TEAM, WITH THE MALAYSIAN TEAM. EXCELLENT JOB: ORGANIZED, COVERT, SWIFT, EFFICIENT, DECISIVE, RESULT-ORIENTED. 🎉
I'm wondering if the victims got any of their money back.
You have the million in the safe.
You have the million dollar residence.
You have the M and M building.
It seems like they need more.
Absolutely fantastic research and undercover operation!!!❤️🙌👏
The whole team that bursted this terribly fraudulent gang really did a fantastic job !!! Kudos to you all. And YES this documentary should be publicised internationally to deter all fraudsters
I bet even in the scammers school days they were lying, lazy, self entitled bullies. Devoid of any conscience.
Yep career criminals. Probably spent a lot of time on the wrong side of the law
I am happy to see this and also wish you guys to come to Nigeria and arrest many scammers. I hope one day to be part of your team
Jamaica too
Nat and Tom did their homework .. the scammers were just one step ahead every time. Sophisticated .. diabolical .. may these scammers get a long, long sentence.
Good job for the Malaysian government and to all the people who worked hard to bust them evil 👿
thank you channel 7 spotlight, this is excellent spotlight, we need this.
We need a public listing of cases. They did the crime, their names should be up. Turned a new leaf? they start working like everyone else.
6 months in nick. If that's the punishment for hundreds of millions in scam money then that's not much a deterrent.
Well done. Journalism at its finest. '' From the Penthouse to the Dog House'', and now off to the Big House. Thanks to the poor victims for sharing with us. Cheers...
That did not happen in reality. The scammers have their money, millions. Only doing six months jail. Look online and read the truth.
A win for justice! There are SO MANY scammers these days. I get scam calls on both personal and work mobiles on a daily basis. It's become ridiculous.
The best way to shut them down is people being aware of their tactics. Well done to everyone involved. This program should be mandatory viewing in every Australian home, workplace, school, university/college. Maybe every legitimate Super fund could It send out warnings to people they hold money for before they reinvest. It should be as publicised as Covid so no one is unaware.
Very true talking 🙏 online banking is not safe period..no matter how smart you are with technology there is someone out there know the way to get you ..
But these people did everything they could to check if they were being scammed including checking ACCC, ScamWatch etc.
At 41:44 the handcuffed guy at a desk tried to cover his face with papers, I LOVED how dude behind him gently grabbed the papers from him and gently placed them on the desk right next to him, it was so smooth! Lol....I laughed 😂.
Really satisfying to see these scammers get caught. Great undercover job with all involved. These horrible people destroyed the innocents lives. Hope that they experience torcher for the rest of their lives in jail. Unfortunately, there are a lot more scammers out there that need to be caught.
Absolutely amazing investigation, well done Everyone!!
Oh boy this was a goodie that kept me on edge from start to finish. Well done 7NEWS Spotlight you have a fan and hope the peeps that were scammed managed to get some money back
You would think after losing his leg he would have regain his consciousness and probably repent from doing crimes again. But no, he probably became worse. This is the type of person who I would say born to be evil. There is a special place in hell for people like him and I hope the judge will give him a lot of lashing.
I remember going to a trading company interview one time after I graduated. It feels like a spooky place and the boss looks like a thug. They are from Croatia. They want to offer me a job something to do with "trading" commodities and what not. I feel really suspicious with the company and I decided not to take the job. I have a feeling they are a scammer too.
Thank you for the great work!
Mad respect for the Malaysian anti corruption agency!
You were only successful because you had an inside man... I just hope you take care of him for life because they'll watch this video and try to get to him for the rest of his days.
"They use VPNs on their internet protocol providers" lmao
Best program ever. THANK YOU ALL
I love Liams confrontation style.
"Hello. How you feeling? You look pretty helpless on the floor there. Now you know how your victims felt when you scammed every penny out of them."
Turns to another scammer:
"Excuse me! Your a bit quiet down there. Whats your name?" Scammer: "Matt." Liam: "I'm Liam, Matt. So... what have you got to say for yourself?" Scammer: "I'm not saying anything without a lawyer." Liam: "You want a lawyer? Your gonna need more than a lawyer, mate." Liam should have said "You want a lawyer? That can be arranged. There's a lawer in New South Wales i can hook you up with, hes one of your victims you scammed $12 million dollars out of. I'm sure he be willing to represent you and have no objections to the crown asking for the maximum prison term."
A major issue with Australian Police not doing anything is that they are unable to do anything when the scammers are overseas. They can not take actions unless invited to by foreign Law Enforcement. The same goes for foreign Police taking action against Australian criminals.
India Police are well known for taking bribes, and letting scammers keep scamming. It's been well documented that they take bribes, and let scammers go free to continue scamming. They aren't the only country to have this issue/problem. The other issue is the police in other countries can't do much when the victim willingly but unwittingly gives their money to the scammers.
Governments around the world need to do more to up the ante so they can make scammers easier to catch and prosecute.
Also, there are pages on Facebook that have been created by scammers with the sole purpose of selling leads to other scammers. "Leads" are personal information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers, and bank details, etc. of victims who have been successfully scammed, and those who could be possible successful victims. Thousands of leads on just one page, and there are many MANY pages all selling "leads".
Well put. And as you say, these pages posting the leads seems such an uncomplicated method - only just scratching the surface.
what appears too good to be true
I endorse all your claims. But there is a global Common Law that if a victim, say in Australia, obtains a Court Order in his country, he can get the Australian Police to contact Interpol, who in turn liaises with the Police in that country to get the Criminal arrested. The Australian Police should have advised their nationals on the legal dispositions. Together they could have obtained results earlier, reducing the collateral damage.
@@sammyrnaj i understand that, but as i stated many of the foreign Police can't do much when the victim gives the scammers the money, even though it was through deceptive practices. In India the scammers get arrested, but let free because they tell the Police they were supplying technical support, and it is payment. The other issue is a lot of victims of scams are elderly and don't realise they have been scammed or a better way to put it is had money stolen, so they don't report it. So even if Interpol were involved, there needs to be more people reporting, and unfortunately there aren't enough reporting. And in some cases where Interpol have been involved they have not been able to do much.
I have scammers call me often, and I NEVER call them scammers. I call them exactly what they are --- Criminals.
No mate, they can trace the phone numbers back to a provider and block them. They can chase the bank accounts used to accept the funds. They can contact foreign police to shut them down. They stitched up the Bali 9
Good on you guys, great job.👍
That was the best documentary I’ve watched in a long long time, fantastic !
I myself enjoyed every minute of this video.😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉congratulations on your success
Congratulations all people involved 👌
Would love an update!
Please bring that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commissioner here to South Africa. We need him badly!
Brilliant!! What a team effort!! And the Australian 'authorities' couldn't do the same thing......what a disgrace!
Stranger danger that is what we are taught as children. Do not talk to strangers, might as well do not give your money to strangers.
Ppl thought they were buying trusted companies Shares, Through Legitimate Business Website.
Hope you raid the call center of scammers in manila philippines who stole my money.
Wow good job guys and to Malaysian special op. I hope you will continue doing this job put down all this greed, heartless scammers
This has to be one of the best investigations iv seen
Im also the victim of scammers 8 years back one thousand dollars. Im from Kathmandu Nepal😮 They are SINNERS will go to HELL. RIP
So good to see these evil people get arrested I hope they stay in that prison for life. They didn't tell us if the victims got all their money back? hope so and with interest lost. Andy was left without a leg to stand on 🤣hope he rots in prison with all the other nasty greedy scammers. Keep up the good work Spotlight 🙏🏻
The bosses like Andy only got 6 months. The others got between 16 and 22 months. None of them going to be rotting in gaol unfortunately
Great Job now that was satisfying to watch👍
How many people watching this are aware of the Lux Sports Car Rental scammer? He charged customers a deposit ($2K to $10K) which was never returned. Always got away unscathed (as The Age published on 22 Dec 2019) and kept doing this for 15 or 20 years under different names. Our laws are obviously not adequate!
If its sounds to good to be its a scam when will people learn
I hope the law in Malaysia is stronger than the weak bs from the West. It should be a minmum of 25 years in jail and stay there till all the scammed money is repaid so basicly a life sentence and never any pity or plum job in jail.....cleaning toilet eveyray is a minimum....
All the funds are seized anyway. The convicted will lose it all.
my ex husband makes 35 cents a hour working inside prison iv seen 15 cents to 55 cents a hour there’s no way they can ever pay back well here in states of America that’s how much they get
Why are you blaming the west ?. Malaysias just as bad as anywhere else . Try blaming Africa where 99% of them are from especially Nigeria . Anyone foolish enough to fall for any of theses idiots and their get rich quick schemes have too much money to want to keep what they have.
@brandmotivo nah, it will all be already squirreled away into untraceable accounts and crypto currency
For Andrew Mark Peters and Darren Anthony McNicholas, scammers caught in Malaysia, it was six months each. Jesus wept.
Great job spotlight!!thanks!!!
great work u guys!!! Thanks for exposing these scams, this needs to be heard by EVERYONE.
It’s so beautiful to see these scum bags get caught. I hope they root in jail for the longest time. I have never been scammed (touch wood) before and the hate I have for these low lives is beyond belief. I can’t imagine what the poor people that have been scammed feel. Keep up the great work and let’s get more of these bastards👍🏽
Subsequent news reports detailed that the men were only given sentences between 6 months and 22 months, backdated to the day of the arrest. Some of them will already be released and back out scamming
I'm anti death penalty. but hearing the Malay gov still cane prisoners make me wonder if we are missing something.
Great job guys!💪👏👏👏 Justice served
This is ❤more like This! Brilliant work
Great Job but more needs to be done to get rid of those accomplices at the local authorities too. Cheating organisations can survive mainly due to incompetent law enforcement officers and corruptions at the law enforcement officers. Overall, a job well done by 7News Spotlight and SPRM in Malaysia.
Don't laugh at the scammed it could be you. They are hard working people who simply trusted dishonest low life and that's not funny.
Thank You Sir For Your Support For Bringing These Criminals Out Thanks God Bless You And Your Work For Communities And Countries
40:15 "your not going anywhere" hahaha what a legend reporter
I also think the money seized should in part given to the people who got scammed and the rest should go the team of officials who busted the scammers as a thank you for your services ✌🇬🇧✌ to all you great PEOPLE around the world in helping get these RATS
Brilliant job Liam
Great job busting them! Great show!
Incredible! Well done, I just wish you had got them sooner!
People are greedy in general from the scammers to the victims, it's a vicious cycle... if you are a person (like myself) who doesn't rotate their life at all (excluding the basic necessities) around money you never get scammed because money means very little to you, but, the money you do have you keep close and safe and take no risks with...
It’s always greed involved in every scam.
I’d say “greed” is a nice word to disguise and mask the true STUPIDNESS of people believing their money into a phone call
agreed - people are greedy - when you have a life times savings and its not enough - you want more and believe someone can you get more back than you have already - greed - without that greed you cannot be scammed - simple
Really good documentary and I feel sorry for the people who have been scammed but why don't people go to their banks...that is the safest way to invest. There are multiple ways your bank can help you.
It may be a bit too crude to suggest these investors are motivated by greed, they just want to make a higher return than the banks offer. It's like if your employer is paying you a low wage, why wouldn't you move to a new employer to do the same work for more pay?
Thank you so much for your video. It's very helpful.
Made me furious those scammers embarrass my country. Hope the victims get their money back and the scammers fry in Hell.
Pierogi is an incredible young man. He and his team have helped thousands and reported them. Most in India 🤬
With a zero result since the corrupted Indian police gets their cut of the scams.
The few scammers behind bars is just for show and they always leaves jail after 1-2 days. The police doesn’t earn their cuts if the scammers not working. And since the scammers focus on Americans the Indian government and police can’t care less.
Love Pierogi's work. He is so talented and just a nice human
@@diannelee1267 He is a good scam baiter, but the sad end result due to the corrupted Indian police, destroys his efforts. Of course he wasted their time at least, but this million dollar scam business is enormous.
The only way to get a lasting effect for the scam baiters is to be able to name and shame the scammers in every large newspaper in India and of course combine that with policemen (or federal variant) that’s not corrupted (absolutely not the local police).
This would be solved in a week if they scammed Indian citizens instead of mainly Americans. Same same with Russian hackers that know they must avoid Russian companies.
Is this even a real case? I'm not finding any news/information about it online
Google; Operation tropicana Malaysia
Well done guys!!!
Beautiful reporting! I miss this kind of reporting in the usa. Thank you for restoring some faith in humanity again. There are indeed good and honest people still in some governments and media.
Good episode but needed subtitles for the phone conversations
Liam your a classic. Can actually feel your adrenaline.
What a sweet end excellent work gentlemen
Great Documentary
Follow the money and Human Trafficking and worse is happening
Dan bongino wrote the book on how to follow the money these people are sick
I'm located in Canada and scammed as well , police is doing nothing at all .... I lost a 'll my savings ...
I really enjoyed that, its definitely a reconstruction but a good one 👍
So true
Good job guys 👌
God bless those who made this possible 🙏🇦🇺
Lmaaooo “I’ve got a message from one of your Australian victims. I’ve written it down bc it’s a bit complicated.. . Caught you. I hope you rot in jail”. Amazing. Those guys looked so shook. Getting caned sounds brutal
After 2 strokes, they usually pass out. Their buttocks will tear off.
@@zafir7007don't think they were sentenced to any caning, just light sentences between 6 and 22 months
Same thing happened to me but with a bond Citibank scam. How can I contact 7 News about my scam?
Enthralled with the Spotlight 7 works🎉🎉❤