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.