Kumar said the 40-year-old man had been on his way from Genting Highlands to Kuala Lumpur on April 17 when he was kidnapped by three men.
“The victim was driving alone in Genting Highlands when the three men stopped him. They pulled him out of his vehicle, beat him, tied him up and took him to an unknown location.
“Police then received two reports on the incident from the victim’s friend and wife,” Harian Metro reported him as saying today.
Kumar said the three men – all South Korean nationals, aged 28 to 40 – demanded a US$10 million (RM39.68 million) ransom in cryptocurrency. The victim’s friends transferred US$3 million.
He said Bukit Aman CID assembled a team comprising officers from Pahang and Melaka, which located the victim at a homestay in Melaka on April 21. The team rescued him and arrested the trio.
“The suspects beat and threatened him with an object resembling a pistol, later determined to be fake. The team seized the object and the vehicle used by the suspects,” he said.
He said the vehicle was registered under an inactive company.
He also said Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department had detected and frozen US$2.46 million in several accounts belonging to the suspects.
Kumar said checks showed that the victim had entered Malaysia in 2016, but the South Korean embassy confirmed that his passport had been cancelled and that he was wanted back home for suspected involvement in organised crime and illegal gambling.
He said two of the suspects entered Malaysia in March last year using social visit passes that expired in June, while the other suspect had no official record of entry.
“So far, we believe the incident was motivated by money. The victim did not know the suspects, and the nature of his employment in Malaysia is still being investigated.
“The three suspects have been remanded until April 28 to assist in the investigation under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961.
“Police will determine further action regarding the victim once the investigation is complete,” he said.