20 arrested in Malaysia visa scam: report

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/afp) - Malaysia's anti-graft watchdog has arrested 20 people in a major clean-up of the immigration department, including the deputy director general, news reports said Sunday.

The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) said corruption at the department was a national security problem. Those arrested were allegedly involved in a scam to issue visas to foreign workers in exchange for money, reports said.

Among those detained were the deputy director general of immigration Yusof Abu Bakar and a close relative, the Sunday Star newspaper said. It said the ACA also seized the equivalent of around 186,000 dollars.

Malaysia is a magnet for immigrant workers who for decades have come to labour in manufacturing, construction and on palm oil plantations.

It is one of the largest importers of foreign labour in Asia. Foreign workers, both legal and illegal, number around 2.6 million of the country's 10.5 million workforce.

Due to bureaucracy delays, many resort to bribery to speed up visa applications.  end (*)