KL investigates foreign firms

KL investigates foreign firms

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia's Anti Corruption Agency
(ACA) is investigating several multinational companies suspected
of offering kickbacks to win tenders and contracts in the
country, a local newspaper said on Sunday.

The Star quoted ACA deputy director general Ahmad Said Hamdan
as saying that the agency had information that several foreign
companies were alleged to be involved in corrupt business
practices, including offering kickbacks to secure local
contracts.

He declined to name the companies under probe but said they
were closely linked to foreign-based currency traders and he
accused the firms of trying to damage the country's economy.

Ahmad Said said complaints of corrupt practices in Malaysia
rose by 12.7 percent to 2,725 in the first quarter of this year.
A total of 102 people were arrested in the first quarter for
corruption involving over 380,000 ringgit, Ahmad Said said.