It said its investigation had found that there was no basis for the claim.

“Based on the initial investigation that has been carried out, there is no issue of a cartel of senior officers in the police force,” the ministry said in a written parliamentary reply to Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Puchong), who asked what action it had taken to address the allegation.

“However, the police have referred the matter to the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) to ensure an independent and transparent investigation is carried out.”

Before his retirement in March, Hamid had claimed there was a cartel of officers who had been working with criminals to depose him as the IGP.

His successor, Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, had said in May that the EAIC was looking into the matter, but there had yet to be any update on its probe.