Lavish Lifestyle Gave Them Away

KUALA LUMPUR: A SPECIAL task force to eradicate institutionalised corruption have busted what it believed could be “the biggest scandal involving civil servants the country has seen”.

Investigators yesterday remanded 24 members of a syndicate, running an intricate network, believed to have cost the government RM4 billion in lost revenue.

Among those netted were two high-ranking Customs officers, who carry the title Datuk, and 10 personnel of various ranks from the department, aged between 36 and 56.

The investigations, which began in 2011, unearthed the suspects’ four-year money-making spree and led to the arrest of 12 other individuals.

They include company owners, agents and lorry drivers who had come under the watch of 200 graft-busters involved in the massive probe.

The Customs director, who was arrested in Ipoh, Perak, had just served in the state for about a year, following a stint as director in a southern state. The rest were picked up from various locations in the Klang Valley.

These men allegedly left a long money trail that allowed investigators to blow the lid on their illicit operations.

“Their lavish lifestyle was among what gave them away. They couldn’t have been more blatant in displaying their ill-gotten wealth,” one of the investigators said.

At the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) office here yesterday, the graft-busters unveiled the collection of seized posh cars, including a Porsche, several Audis and Mercedes.

Investigators also seized RM3 million in cash from the suspects. They have also frozen 200 bank accounts allegedly used by the syndicate’s network.

MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull said the case was far from over.

The commission, he said, was looking at the possibility of making more arrests soon.

Giving a rough indication of the extent of the illicit activities, Shukri said: “RM1.67 billion worth of cigarettes and alcohol were brought into the country under their watch since 2011... but from that amount, only a total value of RM420 million was declared.

“Investigations had shown that the goods were brought in from Scotland, Sweden, Indonesia, Thailand, China, India and Cambodia.”

Shukri said this could be the tip of the iceberg as the estimated losses calculated were a result of investigations into just 10 of 70 companies that operate in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

“The Customs Department and the Inland Revenue Board are crunching the numbers to identify exactly how much the government had lost to this syndicate and how it had affected the market trend.”

On the syndicate’s modus operandi, Shukri said these men had allowed into the country high quality cigarettes and liquor, kept them at the PKFZ and released the goods after their minimal tax value were declared.

The syndicate, he added, used cash in their transactions with importers, and had under their payroll, a large number of people, including the port’s gatekeepers.

Aside from the 10 luxury cars seized from the suspects’ homes and offices, the graft-busters also took into custody cigarettes and alcohol.

Shukri expressed his gratitude to Customs director-general Datuk Sri Khazali Ahmad, whom he said was cooperative and lent his full support for the clean-up mission. - NST