MACC cripples syndicate that illegally lowered import duty of luxury cars
KUALA LUMPUR: As many as 100 exotic luxury cars such as McLarens and Ferraris that were brought out of Langkawi, Kedah are now being tracked down by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The MACC is carrying out a special operation to track down these vehicles after the owners are believed to have colluded with a syndicate to bring the vehicles out of Langkawi by getting an illegal reduction in duties, costing the government millions in lost revenue.
According to a source, MACC has found that there are about 100 such vehicles on the road all across the country which were taken out from Langkawi by the syndicate.
"Some of these vehicles were purchased in 2015 and it was found that the ownership has changed hands until the third owner in some cases," he said.
A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the MACC was looking for individuals who abetted with the syndicate to illegally reduce the duty for the luxury cars from Langkawi.
"The MACC has already gathered all the related documents concerning the luxury cars involved to detect the vehicles and facilitate further investigations.
"Investigations will continue to recover tax arrears owed to the government," he said.
"During the first phase of the special operation that was carried out in the northern region of the country on July 13, we managed to track down and seize 20 luxury cars.
"As a result, MACC has crippled a syndicate that illegally lowered the import duty of luxury cars which resulted in a government tax leakage of RM33 million.
"During that operation, seven individuals were apprehended in Kedah. These individuals were believed to be agents of a government agency who abetted by providing false information.
"MACC's investigation revealed that the suspects colluded with the car owners by producing false documents with the purpose of obtaining a lower valuation in custom duty," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) senior director (special operation) Datuk Tan Kang Sai said that the case is being investigated under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Act (MACC) 2009.
Source: New Straits Times
