Anti Corruption Commission has filed a case to court, in relation to the challenges and obstructions imposed on its investigators when they visited Immigration Department yesterday to obtain documents regarding a large quantity of laptops given by Malaysia’s Nexbiz.
ACC has warned Immigration that it will use its full mandate to take action against the Immigration Department.
ACC’s Vice President Muavviz Rasheed said today upon completion of ACC’s special operation at 7:25, that Immigration Department refused to cooperate and when ACC visited Immigration Department’s premises from 13:30 till 17:00 yesterday.
While the operation had to be halted before the necessary information and documents could be obtained, the incidents which took place during those hours were rather sad, said Muavviz Rasheed.
“We were faced with challenges from the beginning of our operation. They treated us in a manner that no government institution should treat anyone. While our investigators were inside the Immigration Department, they turned off the lights, AC, and fans. And they locked the door from outside, leaving us trapped inside. We will not accept this. We strongly condemn this and will not hesitate to take legal action,” he said.
Muavviz said that ACC plans to file the civil issues of this case to the Police, but did not do so yesterday because the operation was still ongoing.
“We will send the case to the Police in about one hour. That’s the first step we will take now that the operation is complete. ACC will also take necessary action. It is a crime to obstruct ACC in its efforts to carry out its responsibilities. There are punishments for this. So we will take action according to the law. We will not be silent when people attempt to dishonour our authority in this manner,” he said.
ACC has now filed the case to the Police.
Muavviz also said that a court order had to be requested for only because Immigration Department acted in this manner. He noted that the operation in Hulhumale’, Velaanaage and Ghaazee building offices, after the court order was obtained, went smoothly without any intimidation being imposed.
“What we really noted, more than the fact that they confronted us, was that the employees were lacked sincerity. But some employees did assist and cooperate,” he said.