PUTRAJAYA: The arrest of two Malaysian Immigration Department officers serving as attaches in Bangladesh by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) last Monday (April 17) was the result of strategic information sharing between the two agencies.
Immigration director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh said they began investigating claims that the two attaches based in Dhaka, Bangladesh had been receiving bribes involving foreign visas issued to Bangladeshi citizens to enter Malaysia.
"The Immigration Department then ordered the two of them to return to Malaysia to assist with the investigation. Information was channelled to the MACC for action and the investigation led to the arrest of the two officers," he said in a statement on Friday (April 21).
He said investigations were handed over to the MACC and Immigration would provide full cooperation.
Ruslin said Immigration will not compromise when it comes to any of its officers committing offences that tarnish its image and threaten the country's security and sovereignty, adding that strict action awaits them.
He said the strategic cooperation with MACC will also continue to ensure that Immigration is always transparent in dealing with elements of corruption.
The media reported on Thursday (April 20) that two enforcement agency officers serving in Bangladesh were arrested on April 17 at the MACC Putrajaya headquarters and were remanded for three days beginning April 18.
According to the source, the two were arrested after MACC detected a number of suspicious transactions in their bank accounts and they were ordered to return to Malaysia.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, when contacted, confirmed the arrests and did not rule out the possibility that there would be more arrests. – Bernama