Published on: December 11, 2024, 10:37 AM.
Last revised on: December 11, 2024, 10:37 AM.
Authorities in the Isle of Man have revoked the license of a gaming software provider after one of its directors was imprisoned in Singapore for involvement in cybercrime.
The Island’s Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) made the decision against Metagrow Solutions, stating it did not believe the company was under the direction of a trustworthy individual.
In October, Seow Gim Shen, a Malaysian national and director at Metagrow, was sentenced to 14 weeks in prison. He and a partner pleaded guilty in Singapore to trying to buy the private information of 9,369 individuals.
Global Crime Organization
The information had been taken from an online gambling site by a man named Sun Jiao, alleged to be part of a global cybercrime syndicate managed by Chinese individuals in Singapore.
Sun was one of seven men detained by Singapore police in September due to their involvement in “malicious cyber activities.”
In 2019, Seow met Sun through a Chinese national at a casino in Cambodia, according to court documents in Singapore. Sun supposedly had databases of personal information beneficial to the online gambling sector.
Seow introduced Sun to Kong Chien Hoi, an associate. Seow and Kong are both major shareholders in Rexit, a Malaysian business offering software solutions to the insurance and financial sectors. However, Kong also had ties to online gambling, as per court records.
The trio later created a chat group called “Malaysian Data” on a secure messaging app to discuss the sale of the stolen details. Sun sent a sample that included the information of more than 9,000 people, extracted from a larger database, upon request.
Kong analyzed the data and discovered that approximately 32% of the names on the list were fully reachable via SMS. When he inquired about data for Thai clients, Sun claimed he could provide information on over one million Thai citizens, according to court documents.
Plan Fails
Negotiations for the complete database fell through when Sun was apprehended. Analysis of his phone swiftly led investigators to Seow and Kong.
Metagrow Solutions had been approved as a gambling software provider by the GSC in March of last year. Established in August 2022, the company has registered offices in Douglas, the capital of the island.
“The Commission is informed about the reported conviction of one of Metagrow’s directors,” the GSC mentioned in a statement. “There are ongoing aspects of the Commission’s investigation into Metagrow that are still in progress and are subject to due process. We plan to issue a more detailed public statement once the investigation is completed.”