Graft busters have detained 60 people, including a senior Immigration officer believed to be the mastermind of the “counter setting” syndicate.
Counter setting refers to foreigners who enter the country without proper documents at designated and predetermined lanes at entry points.
The officer, in his 40s, who was stationed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), had been identified as the main person who arranged bribes for other Immigration officers involved in the syndicate.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the suspect was detained on Sept 5 after he and several others had attempted to flee earlier.
“We believe he had influenced more than 50 Immigration officers.
“He had served in the department for about 20 years,” he told a press conference at the MACC headquarters here yesterday.
He said the mastermind and three others were expected to be charged early next month.
So far, a total of 60 individuals had been detained in Ops Pump, Ops Pump 2.0 and Ops Setting, which began on Aug 20, he said.
“We gathered intelligence for six months from various sources, including whistleblowers stationed at KLIA. Those detained were 49 Immigration officers, a police officer, two agents and eight mule account holders.
“We have opened 37 investigation papers and recorded the statements of 95 people,” he said.
He said bribes given to Immigration officers in the investigation had codenames based on the nationality of the foreigners being brought in, adding that the amount of bribes would differ based on the nationalities of the foreigners.
“The officers were bribed with between RM200 and RM2,500 for each foreigner,” he said.
Azam added that for those from Bangladesh, the codename was “schoolboy” with a bribe of RM2,500. For Myanmar nationals, it was “junta” (RM1,500); Pakistan (carpet, RM1,300); India (kicap, roti canai, RM800); China (limau, RM350); Vietnam (laici, Nguyen, RM350); and Indonesia (salak, RM300).“For those from Yemen and Uzbekistan, the bribes were RM1,000 and RM500 respectively without codenames,” Azam said, adding that the syndicate promoted their services on social media.
“The agents will contact the Immigration officers on WhatsApp for a suitable date to bring the group of foreigners to Malaysia.
“The Immigration officers will then give a green light for a particular date before the agents supply passport details and photos of the foreigners.
“The officers will give the number for the special counter to be used by the foreigners for easy access into the country,” he added.
After passing through the counter, Azam said, the agents would send the foreigners to their intended destinations.
An array of items was seized from the syndicate, including RM518,250 in cash found at the home of a female Immigration officer in Pahang, and RM248,443 cash from an Immigration officer in Melaka, he said.
“The total amount of cash seized in Ops Pump, Ops Pump 2.0 and Ops Setting are RM1.49mil, US$9,900 (RM42,200) and 5,470 baht (RM1,270).
“We also seized nine cars, 13 motorcycles, 27 pieces of gold, more than 75 pieces of jewellery and over 12 luxury watches.
“Some 215 bank accounts with a total of RM3.6mil have also been frozen,” he said.
On another matter, Azam said graft busters were waiting for the right time to detain a Bangladeshi, who is one of the main suspects in the syndicate.
“He is still in the country, and we are monitoring him. We cannot detain him yet as we have not been able to contact our counterparts in Bangladesh given the political turmoil there,” he said.
Yesterday, it was reported that nearly RM800,000 in cash was found in the bedrooms of two Immigration Department officers who were caught for their involvement in counter setting.
Azam said RM518,250 was found hidden in luggage when they raided the home of a female Immigration Department officer in Pahang.
“We also found RM248,443 hidden under a mattress when we raided the home of a male officer who was arrested in Melaka,” he told reporters.
He said the cash found in these two instances was part of the RM1.49 million, US$9,900.00 and 5,470 Thai Baht that has been seized throughout their operations to date.
“We also seized nine cars and 13 motorcycles which were believed to have been purchased with bribe money as well as 27 pieces of gold weighing 575.75 g worth more than RM200,000.
“Also seized were 75 pieces of jewellery, including rings, bracelets, necklaces, lockets, and earrings,” he said. – The Star