2 officials at Malaysian mission in Dhaka remanded

Two enforcement agency officers at the Malaysian High Commission in Dhaka have been remanded in the country after they were suspected of receiving bribes in connection with the issuance of visas for Bangladeshi tourists and workers.

The duo, a man and a woman, were ordered to return to Malaysia and were remanded for three days until Thursday, reports Free Malaysia Today.

It is uncertain whether they have been released yet.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had discovered “suspicious transactions” involving bank accounts belonging to the two suspects.

The sources said MACC has frozen more than 20 bank accounts and seized assets estimated to be worth 3.1 million Malaysian Ringgit believed to belong to the two officers. The assets include eight plots of land.

When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki confirmed that the officers had been placed under remand and said the case was being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act and Section 4(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act.

“I do not rule out the possibility that there will be several other arrests that will be made after this.”

He said the MACC was also tracking an individual named Siti Liyana Sakijan to help in the investigation and called on those with information on the woman to contact investigating officer Jayaraj Rajan at 016-6371082.

The arrests come in the wake of an ongoing probe into foreign worker recruitment that has seen Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar questioned twice by the MACC.

The MACC also detained two of Sivakumar’s senior officers and a businessman last week in connection with its investigation. The trio was released from remand on Monday.