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FUGITIVE businessman Datuk Seri Muhammad Adlan Berhan, who has been on the run for over two years, is believed to be travelling abroad using a foreign passport after his Malaysian one was revoked, according to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said Adlan’s Malaysian passport had been cancelled by the Immigration Department and could not be renewed.
“As announced by the Home Minister, his Malaysian passport has been revoked. So, how he is able to move around abroad is likely by using another passport. I am confident it is not a Malaysian one because the Immigration Department has already cancelled and barred it from renewal,” he told reporters after chairing the second ASEAN Parties Against Corruption (ASEAN-PAC) Principals’ Meeting in Petaling Jaya today.
Azam added that investigators suspect Adlan has assets overseas, given his apparent lavish lifestyle despite having fled Malaysia.
“We suspect he has assets abroad — otherwise, how could he sustain his life overseas? But tracing assets outside Malaysia is not easy. It requires collaboration with other countries, and we need time to locate them,” he said.
He stressed that any assets traced must be directly linked to the MACC’s ongoing investigation. “Even if we identify his assets, they must be connected to the offences under probe,” he added.
Azam confirmed that the MACC had completed its investigation into Adlan, who is wanted for alleged criminal breach of trust. The agency’s focus now, he said, is to ensure that charges are brought against Adlan and his lawyer, Mansoor Saat, in Malaysia.
“Of course, it is difficult to bring them back. We have been tracking them for quite some time,” he said.
Adlan, 49, who is the son-in-law of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, is believed to be living in luxury in a Middle Eastern country without an extradition treaty with Malaysia.
Photographs shared with the New Straits Times show him mingling with Middle Eastern dignitaries, while sources claimed he frequently travels within the region — including to Thailand for golf and visits to shooting ranges.
He left Malaysia for New Zealand on 17 May 2023, shortly after his father-in-law was charged with corruption.
His lawyer, known as Mansoor, 70, departed for Jakarta four days later and has not returned. Both men are wanted in connection with the National Enforcement and Registration (Biometrics) System (NERS) project, a RM595 million sukuk-funded government initiative aimed at enhancing border security.
Investigations found that almost RM50 million from the temporary work visit pass (PLKS) collections, meant for sukuk repayments, had been misappropriated.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar recently confirmed that investigations against Adlan had been completed and that instructions had been issued for prosecution.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya said the agency fully supported the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ decision to proceed with charges against both men ‘in absentia’. - October 29, 2025