In brief
Forest City in Johor, built by Chinese developers as an iconic $100 billion megaproject, is now a dead‑end resort with fewer than 1 % of its intended 700,000 residents. In July, Malaysian police arrested 335 people in two scam hubs spread across 32 premises, seizing over a million ringgit in equipment. The raided call‑centre operations were run by a multinational crypto fraud syndicate that had migrated from Cambodia’s notorious scam hubs. Experts say the city’s empty luxury infrastructure makes it a perfect lure for increasingly professional crime‑battles. Despite the crackdown, community voices warn that scammers may still operate quietly among residents, highlighting a larger transnational fraud problem in Southeast Asia.
The 14‑sq‑km engineered island off Singapore’s coast, launched in 2016 as a $100 billion leap toward a “dream paradise”, sits today as a sprawling ghost city.
+Rows of empty skyscrapers and dusty apartments give the place a 3D‑printed appearance, yet none occupy the promised 700,000‑resident smart‑city vision.
+In mid‑July, Malaysian police raided 32 premises in Forest City, unmasking two coordinated scam hubs that ran investment and love‑telephone schemes for foreigners.
+Arrested in the raids, 309 Chinese nationals, 19 Indonesians, three Malaysians and four Myanmar residents were seized for possessing more than 1.5 k mobile phones and 313 computers, totalling assets worth about 1 m ringgit (≈US$245 000).
+Authorities say the criminals were linked to a cross‑border crypto‑fraud syndicate, exploiting Forest City’s modern infrastructure and sparse population to hide illicit activity.
+Experts warn that the city’s grand resorts and tax‑free business image make it an ideal Trojan horse for fraudsters who embed themselves behind legitimate‑looking companies.
+According to analysts, such groups now recruit seasoned scammers with better pay, moving away from forced labour while still exploiting trafficked victims.
+the forest city provides modern tech and international links—exactly the traits crypto‑firms need to transmit money unobserved.
+Despite a decade of neglect and a partial completion of about 15‑20 % of the original build, the project continues to market itself as a hot‑bed for investment and innovation, creating a fertile ground for scammers.
+Residents like Kevin and Phillip report that many scam operations remain underground, yet the vigorous police crackdown has turned the ghost town into a more active community.
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