Couple held for fraudulent GST refund claims of RM25 mil

Customs director-general T Subromaniam says the suspects will be charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court tomorrow.

PUTRAJAYA: The Royal Customs Department has detained a married couple for fraudulent GST refund claims through the GST-03 statement, involving nearly RM25.58 million.

Customs director-general T Subromaniam said the male suspect, who is a businessman, was arrested on Aug 25 in Ipoh while the wife, was arrested on Aug 27 in Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur.

“The bank accounts of both the suspects have also been frozen for investigation under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001,” he told a media conference here today.

He said both suspects would be charged in the Ipoh Sessions Court tomorrow.

He said the suspects were detained after several months of investigation by the National Revenue Recovery Enforcement Team (NRRET).

“The department is now identifying several others believed to be involved, and also those who have been deceived by the couple to make the fraudulent claims,” he added.

On the GST collection, Subromaniam said RM41.2 billion was collected last year, exceeding the target of RM39 billion. -FMT