SEVEN officers from a prominent bank were dismissed last month after an internal investigation found they involved in a loan syndicate led by a financial consulting company that was busted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) through Ops Sky recently.
The dismissal of the seven officers was made following an investigation conducted by the bank for nearly six months, which ultimately revealed that they had received bribes from agents of the financial consulting company.
According to Berita Harian, the bribes were to approve loan applications that exceeded the qualifications submitted by public servants, most of whom were teachers.
The seven dismissed officers were among the 18 bank officers detained by the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Division during Ops Sky, a collaboration with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM).
Sources told Berita Harian that several more bank staff are still under internal investigation to determine the extent of their involvement in this financial loan issue, which led to approvals being granted beyond the borrower's ability to repay.
The source said the bank detected this case in July 2024, after observing suspicious data regarding the submission of personal financing (PF) by several staff in the sales department and finding the possibility of third-party agent involvement when the affected customers submitted several PFs to other financial institutions at the same time.
Following that, the source said, the bank management ordered a detailed investigation with a more extensive data review to identify the staff involved.
"A month after this case was detected, the bank informed BNM and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) for further action, and we even made five police reports regarding the case."
"When the internal investigation was conducted, there were concerns about the possibility of bribery being given to staff, so the bank immediately reported to the MACC, which was conducting Ops Sky."
"From time to time, updates and continuous reports are also provided to the Board of Directors regarding the matter," the source told BH.
SPRM, in a recent operation, had busted corruption and money laundering activities involving financial consulting firms and bank officers in several financial institutions through Ops Sky. – February 13, 2025
