The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said the suspects comprised two enforcement officers and three foreign worker agents.

The five suspects, comprising three men and two women aged between their 40s and 60s, were arrested between 10am and 4pm yesterday in an operation conducted in Selangor and Johor.

Two of the five male suspects are officers attached to a federal enforcement agency.

All five were remanded for five days until Nov 1 after magistrate Dhilip Nair R.N. Atchuthan granted an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the Johor Baru court.

The suspects are believed to have solicited and received bribes over seven years, from 2018 to 2025.

Investigators identified 44 online money transfers totalling about RM1 million during that period.

The payments were believed to have been made in exchange for protecting foreign workers managed by the agency from enforcement action.

Johor MACC director Datuk Hazrul Shazreen Abd Yazid confirmed the arrests when contacted.

He said the investigation was being conducted under Sections 16(a)(B) and 16(b)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, which cover offences involving the corrupt solicitation, receipt or giving of gratification.

Hazrul said the investigation stemmed from an intelligence-led operation developed by the MACC’s Intelligence Division.