PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested five more officers from the immigration department for alleged involvement in a syndicate that hacked the department’s MyIMMs system.
A source from MACC said the suspects – four men and a woman aged between 30 and 40 – were arrested after giving statements at the anti-graft agency’s headquarters yesterday.
The source said five mobile phones belonging to the suspects were also seized and that statements from 17 people had been recorded so far.
When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Abd Halim Aman confirmed the arrests and said remand applications would be made at the Putrajaya magistrates’ court this morning.
“The case is being investigated under Sections 17(a) and 16(a) of the MACC Act 2009,” he said.
The arrests bring the total number of immigration officers detained so far to 11.
Six other people were also nabbed last week, comprising two company directors, three foreign nationals and a police officer.
Preliminary investigations found that the syndicate exploited unused temporary employment visit pass (PLKS) quotas for 2011 without paying the levy for the passes issued.
A total of 1,306 fraudulent PLKS passes were issued, causing the government estimated losses of RM2.4 million.
MACC has also frozen nine bank accounts – four belonging to individuals and two to companies – involving about RM300,000.
The agency also seized movable assets, including RM186,360 in cash, S$700 in cash and jewellery worth RM15,700. Laptops and other electronic devices estimated to be worth RM36,000 were also confiscated.
