Kuala Lumpur: Two company owners and a clerk have been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on suspicion of involvement in a syndicate that bribed government department officials.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the men, aged between 20 and 30, were detained between 1am and 1.30pm when they appeared to give evidence at the MACC headquarters here on Sunday. All of them are suspected of being involved in a syndicate that bribed government department officials to speed up the application process for Malaysian citizenship by foreign applicants.

The arrest of the three suspects through Op Fastlane follows Op Outlander conducted on March 11 involving a syndicate that bribed government department officials to expedite the citizenship application process. They are believed to have paid bribes ranging from RM5,000 to RM150,000 per application. The suspects will be remanded until Thursday (March 20) to facilitate investigations.

Meanwhile, MACC Intelligence Division senior director Datuk Idris Zaharuddin confirmed the arrests of the three suspects and stated the case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009.