KUALA LUMPUR: Acting on a police report filed by an assistant district officer in early November, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has uncovered illegal land transfer activities involving insiders at a Land and District Office in Selangor.
Recently, Bukit Aman has detained 17 individuals, including seven land office staff, since late November, suspected of being involved in a cartel concerning 9.4 hectares of land valued at RM7.1 million.
Disclosing this matter, Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (JSJK) director, Datuk Seri Ramli Mohamed Yoosuf, said those detained comprised 10 men and seven women, aged between 26 and 59.
"A total of 17 individuals have been detained to assist in the investigation. They consist of seven land office staff, including an assistant property officer (Grade NT32), and 10 civilians from various backgrounds. So far, seven cases are being investigated, involving 21 acres or more than 9.4 hectares of land with a total loss value of RM7,101,000," he told BH.
Ramli said the complainant came forward to file a police report after discovering several suspicious and illegal land transfer transactions.
The complainant also reported the loss of several documents involving land transfer forms from the department's vault.
Regarding the investigation's progress, Ramli said, following the arrests, the police detected a syndicate and cartel within the land office itself that masterminded the illegal land transfer activities.
He said that the syndicate exploited the system by deleting and erasing important records related to property transfers.
"Police investigations found that the syndicate's modus operandi involved using insiders to identify information about 'dormant' or 'inactive' properties. The syndicate then hired insiders to make changes to property ownership through several layers of nominees before selling them to other buyers," he said, adding that the police investigation is ongoing under Section 420 of the Penal Code.
Ramli said that, following the investigation into the case, all the affected land is now under the PDRM registrar's caveat.
A registrar's caveat is used as an official mechanism to prevent fraud, suspicious land transactions, or protect the authorities' interests due to documentation or land administration errors.