PUTRAJAYA, Feb 12 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) has arrested a tour agency managing director for suspected involvement with a syndicate manipulating the quote of umrah flight tickets.

According to an MACC source, the managing director, 35, was arrested at the MACC headquarters here around 3.30 pm when he showed up to give his statement.

The man is suspected of bribing two individuals, who were arrested by the MACC on Feb 9, in return for helping his tour agents secure umrah flight tickets. A mobile phone, RM160,000 in cash and several laptops were also seized by the MACC during the arrest.

The source said that several accounts, including investment accounts under the names of the man’s wife, ex-wife and children were in the process of being frozen, adding that investigations were currently focused on whether other officers of the company, which is the sole agent for a foreign airlines, were involved in similar criminal activities.

Preliminary investigations had revealed no wrongdoing by the company but the source did not discount the possibility that other individuals would be called up to aid the investigation.

Meanwhile, MACC special operations division senior director Datuk Tan Kang Sai confirmed the arrest, saying that the managing director has been remanded for four days till Wednesday and that the case was being investigated under Section 16(a) of the MACC Act 2009. — Bernama