PUTRAJAYA: Four company directors and two managers were detained by graft busters in connection with diesel smuggling that have caused losses of RM247mil to the country.
The six suspects, including two with the Datuk title, were nabbed in a special operation codenamed Ops Karen in Sabah and Sarawak, which ran from Sept 2 till 8.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the commission also froze bank accounts and seized assets worth RM190.8mil following the operation.
“We uncovered the smuggling activity through collaboration with other agencies under the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF) led by the MACC.
“Among other agencies involved in the task force were the police, Inland Revenue Board, Bank Negara, the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, and the Customs Department,” he told reporters yesterday.
While the losses to the government due to the diesel smuggling activity is estimated at RM247mil over the past 10 years, Azam said the actual number could be up to three times higher.
“That is why our investigators have to analyse the syndicate’s account further and conduct forensic accounting,” he added.
Azam said the MATF froze 498 bank accounts containing RM110mil and seized assets such as five ships (worth RM52mil), 4.5 million litres of diesel (RM9.7mil), nine luxury watches (RM1.2mil), 17 posh cars (RM5.6mil) and 40 pieces of land (RM11.3mil).
“We also seized foreign currencies in different denominations worth RM156,479.
“In total, the accounts and assets totalled RM190.8mil,” he added.
The six people detained had no prior criminal records.
“We are not ruling out the possibility that some enforcement officers were also involved with the syndicate,” Azam said.
The investigation into the syndicate started following a public tip-off, he revealed.
“Our Intelligence division has to analyse and verify the information before working with Bank Negara and other relevant agencies to uncover suspicious money flow.
“Extensive intelligence gathering was done before conducting the operation,” he said.
Azam also confirmed the syndicate employed the services of underworld figures.
He said the syndicate, which operated in Sabah and Sarawak, had help from gang members for their diesel smuggling activity.
“The secret societies offered the syndicate protection, especially during the transfer of diesel at sea.
“We are investigating further to uncover the extent of their involvement,” he said.
Azam said that all companies raided under Ops Karen since early this month were licensed distributors appointed by oil exploration companies operating in Malaysia.
“These smugglers were hiding behind legitimate licences.
“Without them, they would be outright smugglers,” he said.
On the MATF, Azam said the task force had seized more than RM1.6bil worth of funds and assets since last year.
He said the task force, led by the MACC, seized RM705.55mil in funds and assets following multiple operations involving corruption and money laundering.
“We also detained 61 people, including 34 civil servants.
“Of the overall number, 25 civil servants have been charged while disciplinary action has been taken against eight others,” he said.
So far this year, he said the MATF had seized RM960.73mil worth of funds and assets following high profile operations nationwide.
“We conducted several operations this year, including Ops White (swindling of government contracts for powdered milk), Ops Kingfruit (durian investment scam in Raub, Pahang), Ops X (crypto fraud), Ops Sikaro (tobacco smuggling) and Ops Karen (diesel smuggling).
“The task force was formed early last year, chaired by the Attorney General, with MACC as the lead agency.
“Our objective is to coordinate investigations, legal action and recovery of assets linked to illegal activities, including graft, smuggling and money laundering,” he said.
The agencies under the task force would work together in tracking, freezing and seizing illegal funds and assets relating to various syndicates.
“We also worked with our overseas counterparts, including from Singapore, Switzerland and Britain.
“For example, the recovery of 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) funds recently was the work of the task force,” he said.
