Malaysia: Cash, Gold Bars Seized from Home of Govt Official

Anis Natasha
2017.01.04
Kuala Lumpur
170104-my-graft-620.jpg A money changer counts Malaysian ringgit banknotes for customers in Kuala Lumpur, June 11, 2015.
AFP

Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Wednesday announced it had seized cash and gold worth 3 million ringgit (U.S. $667,037) from the home of a high-ranking government official and arrested him on suspicion of corruption and abuse of power.

The move marks the first high-profile corruption arrest in Malaysia in 2017, after the MACC nabbed several top officials and seized tens of millions of ill-gotten ringgit in 2016.

The individual was detained at his home in an affluent part of Subang Jaya, Selangor early Tuesday, according to a MACC statement. A 29-year-old man was also arrested, it said.

“The aforementioned MSG, aged 59, is believed to have abused his power and position to accept bribes from those who had business with him,” the statement said, using an acronym for the man’s rank, ministry secretary-general.

“The 29-year-old man is believed to have received and retained the proceeds of bribes from contractors, suppliers, and vendors who had business with the MSG,” it said.

The agency seized cash and gold bars worth 3 million ringgit during the arrest, the statement said.

The Star newspaper, citing MACC Deputy Commissioner of Operations Azam Baki, named the suspect as Mohd Arif Ab Rahman from the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development. According to the ministry’s website, he is its number four official.

‘A life of luxury’

The MACC opened close to 1,000 investigations into corruption and abuse of power in 2016, according to a report Tuesday in the New Straits Times. It arrested 932 people, of whom 258 had been charged by Dec. 15, the report said.

In October, MACC investigators seized 52 million ringgit (U.S. $11.6 million) in cash, as well as luxury cars, watches, handbags, and folders containing land grants from the homes of two officials in Sabah, Malaysia.

Former Sabah Water Department Awang Mohd Tahir Mohd Talib, 54, his wife, Fauziah Piut, 51, and his former deputy director Lim Lam Beng, 62, were charged on multiple counts of money laundering in December. All three say they are innocent.

MACC has been investigating a number of high-profile cases involving government officials in the Malaysian states of Johor, Malacca, Penang and Kelantan.

“We don’t want public service to be marred by corruption and to see senior officials living a life of luxury beyond their income, and accumulating wealth through criminal acts of corruption,” Chief Commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad told state news agency Bernama after taking the helm of the MACC in July.

On Tuesday, a Malaysian media outlet reported that a senior official of the anti-graft agency had retired two years early due to the agency’s failure to prosecute a case involving state fund SRC International.

A probe into the case involved allegations that 42 million ringgit of SRC funds had ended up in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s personal bank accounts. But Malaysia’s attorney general found that the case had no merit, and it was not brought to court.

“I’m not only disappointed, but I also felt like I had sinned against 30 million Malaysians when the SRC case could not be taken to court,” the former head of MACC’s Special Operations Division Bahri Mohd Zin reportedly told Free Malaysia Today, which published what it said were screen shots of the online conversation.

In a statement late Tuesday, MACC denied the report.

“In regards to a statement published in a media portal today stating Dato Bahri chose to retire early due to disappointment that investigation into SRC International (SRC) failed to be brought to court, MACC had contacted Dato Bahri and he denied making such a statement to the portal,” the statement said.

Attempts by BenarNews to reach Bahri for comment were unsuccessful.

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