The six – four men and two women in their 30s to 50s – were arrested between Nov 30 and Dec 6, either at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya or in Melaka, Bernama reported.

According to a source at the anti-graft agency, one of the men is the president of an NGO and believed to be the mastermind and the person who determined the price of the awards.

The syndicate is believed to have charged RM150,000 for a “Datukship” and RM250,000 for a “Datuk Seri” title, while one victim, a man in his 50s, claimed to have paid RM1.2 million for a “Tan Sri” title.

The source also said the syndicate was believed to have been in operation since 2020 and had cheated six individuals who wished to get awards without going through normal procedures.

The victims were said to have been provided “proof” in the form of photographs and documents, supposedly from a government agency, to convince them that the medals and titles they would get were genuine.

According to Bernama, the MACC source said the agency is tracking down five more individuals who also fell victim to the syndicate.

Yesterday, MACC obtained an order from magistrate Irza Zulaikha Rohanuddin at the Putrajaya magistrates’ court to remand the NGO president for five days until Dec 11.

The remand order for four others expires today, while the sixth person had been released on MACC bail.

MACC senior director (Investigation) Hishamuddin Hashim confirmed the arrests and said the investigation was conducted under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009.

“MACC is tracking down a few more individuals who are believed to be involved with the syndicate,” he told Bernama.