Horrific allegations of child sexual assault came to light in September when police first rescued more than 400 youngsters from care homes operated by Global Ikhwan Services and Business (GISB).

Malaysian police chief Razarudin Husain has said that at least 13 youngsters under 17 suffered sexual abuse in what the media has dubbed as the “houses of horror”.

The group ran more than 100 care homes in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation where children as young as one year old were housed.

“They basically exploit religious belief, and this is not unusual. A lot of cults operate like this… It’s a form of social engineering,” Munira Mustafa, executive director of security consultancy Chasseur Group in the capital Kuala Lumpur, told AFP.

A total of 625 children have been rescued, while 415 people have been arrested in large-scale police raids that crippled the company’s businesses. Several other people have been charged with criminal intimidation and child abuse.

Authorities have seized properties and frozen bank accounts related to GISB worth nearly $4.6 million. They have also opened probes into 23 properties worth $12.11 million across 10 countries.

Before the scandal, the company had assets totalling $75.6 million, the website showed.