Director held over citizenship application graft case
KUALA LUMPUR: A company director has been detained by graft busters over a corruption case linked to citizenship applications.
He is believed to have conspired with several others to give bribes between RM1,000 and RM30,000 to a government officer for every citizenship application since 2023, said sources.
'The bribes were meant to expedite the applications of foreigners in obtaining Malaysian citizenship without proper procedures,' one source said.
The 50-something man was brought to the Putrajaya Magistrate's Court on Friday where magistrate Kunasundary Marimuthu granted a three-day remand order until today.
Sources said the suspect was detained on Thursday when he was at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters to give his statement.
When contacted, MACC senior director (intelligence division) Datuk Idris Zaharudin confirmed the arrest and said the case is being investigated under Section 17 of the MACC Act.
'The latest arrest was made following Ops Fastlane 1.0 and Ops Outlander conducted since March 11 involving a syndicate which bribed government officers to expedite the citizenship application process,' he said.
In a related development, sources said that three individuals, including two senior Home Ministry officers who were detained over the same case, have been released on bail after their statements were taken.
Sources said among those detained were a man with the title Datuk who served in the ministry and a woman who worked as a secretary.
'They were not remanded but released on MACC bail after giving their statements.
'However, they can be called up again to assist the investigation if needed,' sources said.
It was reported that two Home Ministry officers have been detained over a corruption case linked to the processing of citizenship applications.
Another person was also arrested during an operation in Putrajaya, the MACC said.
All three individuals, aged between 50 and 65, were arrested between 1pm and 5pm on Wednesday following information received on the case.
'This operation is a continuation of MACC's recent Ops Outlander. The Home Ministry has extended its full cooperation,' a statement said.
Under Ops Outlander and Ops Birth, the MACC arrested 16 people on March 11.
They were suspected of corruption in relation to the registration of births using forged documents.
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