Two held for stealing RM110,643 from passengers of MH370

KUALA LUMPUR - Police have arrested a bank officer and her husband believed to be involved in siphoning off RM110,643 from the accounts of four passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370.

Kuala Lumpur Commercial Crime Investigation department chief, ACP Izany Abd Ghani, said the bank officer, who has been working for the bank for 10 years, was arrested at her home in Ampang about 4pm.

"Her husband, 33, was picked up by police at a workshop in Ampang where he had taken his car for repair. Police believe he is also involved in the siphoning of the money.

"Police are yet to get the recording from a closed-circuit camera (CCTV)) in the bank. It will take a little time," he said, adding that both of them were now detained at the Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters here.

However, he said the two of them, who are being remanded until Sunday, had no previous criminal record.

Police are also looking for a Pakistani man believed to be involved in the fraudulent withdrawals.

Dang Wangi police chief SAC Zainuddin Ahmad said the man known as Ali Farran was in his 30s and worked as a mechanic in Pandan Indah, Ampang. His last known address is No 2 Lorong Kemajuan 2, Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur.

Initial police investigation revealed that from the RM110,643, a sum of RM35,000 was transferred into a fifth account through Internet banking.

Zainuddin said investigations revealed that the RM35,000 was transferred to the Pakistani's bank account. Police believe the man has fled with the money.

"Investigations are still underway to find out the relationship between the detained bank officer and the Pakistani," he told Bernama here, today.

So far the police have taken statements from six people, including the bank manager, Zainuddin added.

Meanwhile, Izany advised families of passengers of MH370 to monitor their (passengers') bank statements just to be vigilant. Investigations revealed that funds were transferred from three passengers' bank accounts into the account of a fourth passenger through Internet banking and together with the fourth passenger's account, the amount totalled RM110,643.

The accounts were those of two Chinese nationals Ju Kun and Tian Jun Wei and two Malaysians Hue Pui Heng and MH370 steward, Tan Size Hian, who were all on MH370.

The missing money came to light on July 18 when a bank officer from a foreign bank detected a series of suspicious transactions and transfers from the four accounts.

Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board.

The Boeing 777 aircraft has yet to be found, even after an exhaustive search in the southern Indian Ocean where it is believed to have gone down after veering off course. – Bernama