KUALA LUMPUR, June 28 ― The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) may amend its law to charge companies instead of individuals found to be involved in graft.
Under section 16(a) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act, only individuals found guilty of the charge face a jail term of not more than 20 years, RM10,000 in fines or five times the amount involved, or both.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed said it was working with the Attorney-General’s Chambers on drafting the amendment before proceeding to parliamentary level.
“Currently, only the individual or person from the company who committed bribery will be charged in court, but not the company.
“With the amendment, the companies and their board of directors who have knowledge of bribery practices in their company should be held responsible,” he said after a press conference at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy here yesterday.
Abu Kassim said a similar law has been practised in the United Kingdom’s courts, adding if an official was found involved in offering bribes with the knowledge of the board of directors, the company would also be charged.
He earlier announced the successful collaboration between the Bar Council, the Prime Minister’s Department’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) and the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA) in charging a man with abetting in an alleged solicitation.
On Wednesday, an arbitrator was charged in the Penang Sessions Court with soliciting RM6 million as a bribe from the owner of a construction company last year.
Abu Kassim said: “The case was been investigated by us alone earlier last year. However, with the collaboration, we managed to settle it in just a few weeks.”
