More cash, gold seized from ministry sec-gen

PETALING JAYA: Following the arrest of a ministry secretary-general – a "datuk" – and his two sons for alleged corruption on Wednesday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seized more cash and gold bars worth RM2.6 million kept in safe deposit boxes in two banks yesterday.
Sources said investigators found 8kg of gold worth RM1.6 million in one of the safe deposit boxes.
At another bank, cash amounting to almost RM1 million, including A$80,000, was seized.
This comes after the seizure of RM3 million in cash and gold bars from the datuk's house in Subang Jaya on Wednesday.
It is learnt that investigators also discovered that the datuk had allegedly sold about 15kg of gold bars worth RM2.6 million in recent months.
The MACC believes the datuk was actively involved in the purchase of gold bars and foreign currency.
Sources revealed that one of the suspects had secured a government project in a state and had allegedly received almost RM700,000 in kickbacks from the main contractor engaged to carry out the job.
The datuk's family members also possessed 10 plots of land in the Klang Valley worth millions of ringgit.
Investigators are in the midst of ascertaining the exact value of the real estate they own. The datuk's Toyota Estima multi-purpose vehicle was also seized.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Azam Baki, when contacted yesterday, said more individuals are expected to be summoned to assist in the probe.
It is learnt that investigators had gone to the Inland Revenue Board yesterday to ascertain if the datuk had paid his taxes since being appointed as a high-ranking government official in 2010.
On Wednesday, MACC raided his house in Subang Jaya at 8am and conducted a search for over 12 hours.
The raiding party seized cash, gold bars, luxury handbags and watches worth about RM3 million before detaining the datuk and his two sons. All three were remanded for investigations yesterday.
The datuk, who was previously secretary-general of another ministry before being appointed to his current position where he is directly involved in the awarding of government work contracts, is also a director of a government-linked company.
He is said to have recently gone on a trip to the United States to play golf – a holiday which was allegedly paid for by certain individuals with vested interests in the datuk's powers in awarding contracts.
Investigators also learnt that the secretary-general was an avid investor of gold and foreign currency, regularly trading millions of ringgit and observing markets for both portfolios personally.
Sources said his sons were also employed by him allegedly as middlemen and were tasked to undertake dealings with relevant contractors he had awarded the government projects.
It is also believed that he had gotten his sons involved in his alleged private dealings and taken them along for games of golf where he met with top bosses of private companies.
Sources also said his sons allegedly acted as his runners and took instructions from him, at times collecting large sums of kickbacks from relevant parties.