Malaysian's anti-corruption agency said it has arrested three individuals over an Australian banknote supply contract scandal, as an international probe into the case deepened. Malaysia's Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the trio were arrested last month after claims emerged that the Melbourne-based Securency International offered bribes to officials in Malaysia. They were arrested in Putrajaya when they went there to give their statements.
"I can only confirm that the MACC has arrested three persons to assist in the investigation. We arrested them about a month ago," MACC investigation director Mustafar Ali told AFP. The arrests were not reported previously.
Mustafar said the three were released after being held for questioning and none of them has been charged in court yet. He declined to elaborate on their alleged role in the scandal. He also declined to confirm whether the trio included a businessman who according to reports paid 11.3 million ringgit (3.65 million dollars) to lobby Malaysia's central bank and government officials to use the polymer banknotes. The Australian press has reported that the businessman was hired by Securency International and another banknote company Note Printing Australia between the late 1990s and 2007.
"The investigation is still ongoing," Mustafar said, adding that the probe is in its final stages. The investigation papers will be forwarded to the relevant authorities for further action.
Securency won currency printing contracts in Malaysia for the RM50 Commonwealth Games commemorative note in 1998 and the RM5 polymer note in 2004. The Malaysian businessman was chairman of several local companies but probably remembered for the problems that besieged the listing of a fast rising company in 1996. He had reportedly also been a broker for a Pakistani government-linked weapons-making factory and was the second arms trader to have been used as an agent by either or both Securency and NPA.
"I can only confirm that the MACC has arrested three persons to assist in the investigation. We arrested them about a month ago," MACC investigation director Mustafar Ali told AFP. The arrests were not reported previously.
Mustafar said the three were released after being held for questioning and none of them has been charged in court yet. He declined to elaborate on their alleged role in the scandal. He also declined to confirm whether the trio included a businessman who according to reports paid 11.3 million ringgit (3.65 million dollars) to lobby Malaysia's central bank and government officials to use the polymer banknotes. The Australian press has reported that the businessman was hired by Securency International and another banknote company Note Printing Australia between the late 1990s and 2007.
"The investigation is still ongoing," Mustafar said, adding that the probe is in its final stages. The investigation papers will be forwarded to the relevant authorities for further action.
Securency won currency printing contracts in Malaysia for the RM50 Commonwealth Games commemorative note in 1998 and the RM5 polymer note in 2004. The Malaysian businessman was chairman of several local companies but probably remembered for the problems that besieged the listing of a fast rising company in 1996. He had reportedly also been a broker for a Pakistani government-linked weapons-making factory and was the second arms trader to have been used as an agent by either or both Securency and NPA.
Source: Malay mail, AFP
