12 Remanded Over MyIMMs Hacking and RM2.4m Fake Pass Syndicate

PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — A total of 12 individuals, including six Malaysian Immigration Department officers, have been remanded by the Putrajaya Magistrates’ Court to assist in ongoing investigations into the hacking of the Malaysian Immigration System (MyIMMs) to issue fraudulent Temporary Employment Visit Passes (PLKS).

The remand order was issued today by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah following an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Under the order, five suspects were remanded for three days starting today, while seven others were remanded for two days.

The suspects, aged between their 30s and 40s, comprise four Immigration enforcement officers, two department IT division officers, two company directors, three foreign nationals, and one police officer.

All 12 individuals were arrested separately between 2 pm and 5 pm yesterday at the MACC Headquarters and Penang Immigration offices. The arrests follow a joint operation between MACC and the Immigration Department that has been underway since May.

MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman revealed in a statement today that preliminary investigations uncovered a syndicate that had illegally approved 1,306 fake PLKS passes by exploiting 2011 quota allocations without paying mandatory pass levies, causing an estimated RM2.4 million loss in government revenue.

“Initial investigations also revealed that the syndicate paid bribes ranging between RM1,000 and RM6,000 for each PLKS application to the involved immigration officers in return for approving the applications without following established procedures,” Abd Halim said.

The enforcement operation, spanning the Klang Valley and Penang, was carried out with technical assistance from CyberSecurity Malaysia (CSM), Telekom Malaysia, and MACC’s Technology Forensics Division (BFT). Searches were conducted across company premises as well as Immigration offices in Penang and Putrajaya.

During the raids, MACC officers seized various movable assets, including RM186,360 in Malaysian Ringgit, SGD700 in cash, jewellery valued at RM15,700, and electronic devices—such as laptops and mobile phones—estimated to be worth RM36,000.

Abd Halim confirmed that the case is currently being investigated under Section 16(a) and Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.

-NMT