PETALING JAYA: A husband and wife who work for the Immigration Department have been arrested for allegedly accepting bribes for years and using the proceeds to open a jewellery store.
In a video statement on TikTok, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) stated that investigations revealed they had utilised funds accumulated over four years to open the shop and had employed family members, including their own child, as proxies.
"Investigations revealed that the couple used the name of the woman's younger sibling and their own child as proxies to open the gold shop, with a capital of around RM600,000.
"Investigations under Ops Dygo led to the couple, both in their 40s, being remanded for five days. They have been remanded from Sept 10 to 14 following a remand order obtained from the Ayer Keroh Magistrate's Court," it said on Saturday (Sept 13).
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya, in the same statement, said that the suspects were involved in an amnesty program that allowed employers to obtain legal work permits for undocumented foreign workers.
He added that bribes were paid in cash and distributed to other offices managing the relevant files, with suspects receiving bribes of around RM150 per foreign worker.
It is believed that the duo had accumulated around RM900,000 within a four-year period from 2020, which was then used to open the shop and to purchase a luxury vehicle.
A raid at the shop in Pahang also led to the discovery of 3kg of gold worth around RM1.4mil.
The case is being investigated under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009.
