An unemployed man was forced to apply for a loan for a house he could not afford, on a pledge of $ 5,000 he never received.

Iswandi Yahya, 38, admitted in district court yesterday that he tricked Malayan Banking (Maybank) into granting him the $ 2.84 million mortgage.

He was unable to repay the loan, which resulted in Maybank losing over $ 1.2 million. No restitution has been made to date.

Iswandi and former real estate agent Mohamad Hamzi Rabu, 50, were in court over their role in a scam in which arrangements were made in 2014 to sell a house in Woodgrove Walk, near Woodlands Avenue 1, for 2, $ 4 million but to indicate a price of $ 3.55. million.

Hamzi, the seller of the house, admitted yesterday that he fraudulently executed a transfer form containing the false declaration.

The two men’s alleged accomplices are Mohamed Haron Hassan, 39, Bijabahadur Rai Shree Kantrai, 50, and Juma’at Johari and Sufandi Ahmad, both 40.

The cases concerning these four men are still pending.

The court heard that Bijabahadur had offered the “reimbursement system” to Sufandi, whose role was to search for private land properties for sale.

Deputy prosecutors Joseph Gwee and Benedict Chan said that in 2014, Sufandi learned that the Woodgrove Walk house was for sale and hired Iswandi as a buyer. Iswandi would apply for a mortgage on his behalf to purchase the house. He was told he would be paid $ 5,000 later.

Iswandi agreed to participate in the ruse even though he had no financial means to buy the house.

According to court documents, Sufandi also obtained false documents, including one allegedly from the Singapore Inland Revenue Authority, falsely claiming that Iswandi had an annual income of over $ 470,000 in 2013.

Maybank received these documents before approving the $ 2.84 million loan to Iswandi.

Iswandi will be sentenced next Tuesday, while Hamzi will be sentenced on January 6 next year.

$ 2.84 million

The amount of the mortgage loan Maybank approved to Iswandi Yahya for the purchase of a house near Woodlands Avenue 1.