Detaining Fugitive Singapore Tycoon After 19 Years Shows MACC's Competence - Azam Baki

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- After nearly two decades on the run, a Singaporean tycoon involved in an US$51 million (RM227 million) misappropriation case was finally arrested with his wife in Johor yesterday.

Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the success in hunting down the slick tycoon who had been on the run for 19 years was achieved through half a year of intelligence and surveillance as well as close cooperation between the MACC and the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) of Singapore.

He said operation to hunt for the tycoon began in April last year when the CPIB director visited the MACC headquarters to discuss the case in detail. 

"Following the meeting, CPIB sent a formal application for the execution of an arrest warrant under the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 2002 [Act 621] and the Summons and Warrants (Special Provisions) Act 1971 (Act 25)," he said in a statement today.

He said prior to the execution of the warrant, the MACC intelligence team had collected important information including surveillance photos as well as personal details of the suspect.

Further analysis by the CPIB using facial recognition technology showed that there was a 70 per cent chance that one of the individuals was a wanted suspect, he said.

He said as a result of MACC's cooperation, the suspect's location and personal details, including his passport number and phone number, were successfully traced before the MACC Johor Office carried out the arrest.

"This success marks the culmination of an overarching operation involving intelligence gathering, monitoring, and close collaboration between agencies. This operation demonstrates MACC's commitment, through the Joint Assistance Branch for Foreign Investigations (FOMIA), to international cooperation in the fight against corruption and cross-border crime.

"This shows the importance of intelligence information sharing, monitoring, as well as agency collaboration in upholding justice," he said. 

The Singaporean entrepreneur, who was allegedly involved in a case of misappropriation of funds worth more than US$51 million (SGD$72 million at the time), had reportedly been on the run with his partner for the past 19 years.

The former chief executive officer of the Singapore-based recycling company reportedly misused the electronic waste by selling it to syndicates in Taiwan and Hong Kong, instead of processing it to recover the precious metal as it should have been.

--BERNAMA