RM700mil in loans approved for blacklisted civil servants, Op Sky reveals

FMT:

 

RM700mil in loans

approved for blacklisted

civil servants, Op Sky

reveals

FMT Reporters

-18 Jan 2025, 12:52 PM

The syndicate being probed by MACC is believed to have been operating over the past five years.

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MACC began investigating the syndicate following suspicions that bank officers had received kickbacks in return for helping process and approve personal loans for certain clients.

PETALING JAYA: 

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has found that nearly RM700 million in bank loans were approved to borrowers linked to a syndicate that enabled civil servants with bad debts to obtain personal loans from local banks.

A source revealed that the loans were approved over the past five years, starting from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, during which officers from the financial institutions involved in the syndicate profited from service fees and fees for settling bad debts.

“The total value of loans approved so far is about RM700 million, resulting from various personal loans obtained simultaneously from several banks,” the source told FMT.

The syndicate is understood to have visited government ministries and departments nationwide to engage with civil servants after claiming they offered financial consultation services.

It was previously reported that more than 4,000 public servants were deceived by the syndicate, which was also run by bank officers from various financial institutions in the country.

Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the commission is tracking down at least 16 more individuals in the financial sector to be investigated under Op Sky.

He also said MACC has seized 4,000 documents in its investigation into the syndicate after it conducted raids in 24 locations in the Klang Valley and arrested 12 people on Monday.

Azam said MACC began investigating the syndicate following suspicions that officers from several banks had received kickbacks from financial consulting firm personnel in return for helping process and approve personal loans for certain clients.

The bank officers were reported to have received RM5,000 for each loan they approved, with the bribes amounting to 1% of the loans’ value once they were approved.

MACC has frozen 70 company and individual accounts totalling more than RM16.2 million as part of its investigation into the syndicate.

It has also seized nine vehicles of various brands, more than RM300,000 in cash, 17 luxury watches estimated to be worth RM11.1 million, and five branded handbags valued at over RM430,000.

Among the vehicles seized were a Ferrari F8 Spider, a Mercedes-Benz GLC43 and a Lexus RC300.