PUTRAJAYA: The mastermind who is an 'influential' senior immigration officer in a syndicate bringing in foreigners using the 'counter setting' modus operandi will be charged in court early next month.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner, Tan Sri Azam Baki, said the suspect in his early 40s, who has been serving the Immigration Department (JIM) for 20 years, was arrested on September 5 after escaping an earlier operation.
"This is one of the people we arrested (the mastermind), and he controls about 50 (immigration) officers because he's very influential.
"He is the 'focal person' as an intermediary for almost all immigration officers to carry out what he instructed," he said at a special press conference, here today.
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Azam said the immigration officers involved who are not charged in court, will face punitive actions by JIM to ensure such abuses do not happen again in the future.
He revealed that bribe transactions were in cash and were channeled directly by the mastermind to relevant immigration officers as well as bribe payments from foreigners to officials through several agents.
He said the MACC is still unable to identify the foreigners and the agents involved and further investigations would lead to the identification of the foreigners and agents involved.
He said the MACC has information about a Bangladeshi who has a business here and further investigation and arrest will be conducted if there is sufficient information.
When asked if the mastermind had anything to do with the Bangladeshi, Azam said it was highly likely given the information received that he arranged for an agent in Bangladesh to find workers to bring into Malaysia.
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