MACC nab ex-royal family special officer, assistant

A 'Datuk Seri' who had formerly served as Special Officer to the Selangor Royal Family, and his right-hand man have been detained on suspicion of corruption and fraud.

A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) source said the Datuk Seri, in his 50s, and his assistant, in his 40s, who is also a businessman, were detained in two separate raids in the national capital and Seremban, Negeri Sembilan.

"In the first raid at a supermarket in the national capital, the assistant was apprehended at 10pm on Monday and information obtained from him led MACC to Seremban yesterday (Tuesday), to the house of the Datuk Seri who was arrested at 11am," he told Bernama here, today.

He said both men were believed to be involved in falsifying documents to expedite the process in claiming for deceased persons' estates.

"The suspects are believed to have issued letters purportedly from royal families and dignitaries to facilitate dealings involving the government.

"The amount of bribes they demand to speed up the process is from RM30,000 to RM125,000," he said.

According to the source, the duo were believed to have been active for four years and investigations to date found that 10 people had fallen victim in Klang Valley and Seremban.

"The Datuk Seri's contract as a special officer of a royal family is believed to have ended in 2013," he said.

He said MACC also seized cash hidden in a bathroom in the Datuk Seri's house and car amounting to RM142,000, and cash totaling RM30,000 from the assistant.

"Several documents used to dupe the victims were also found together with stamps belonging to dignitaries including top national leaders and royal families," he said.

Both have been remanded for five days from the dates of their arrest to help in investigations.

Meanwhile, the source said two civil servants aged 20 and 50 years were called today to give their statements while five witnesses had been called up to help in investigations.

The case is investigated under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, which provides for jail not exceeding 20 years and a fine of five times the bribe amount.

MACC deputy chief commissioner (Operations) Datuk Azam Baki, when contacted,confirmed the arrests but declined to comment further on the investigation.