Thanking enforcement agencies for recent action against bank officers who allegedly accepted bribes to direct customers to particular legal firms for documentation, he said accountability “applies to every party involved”.

“Their firm action sends a clear message that corruption will not be tolerated.

“Such practices distort competition, erode professionalism and directly harm the economic well-being of honest lawyers who refuse to engage in corrupt arrangements,” he said in a statement today.

Ezri also warned errant lawyers not to assume that silence would protect them, as implicated firms might turn against their employees, whether via cooperation with investigators or disciplinary proceedings.

His statement comes after a former Maybank officer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to failing to report the receipt of RM20,153 in gratification from a law firm to suggest the firm’s lawyers to customers for home financing agreements in 2019.

Nashriq Emmeir Ismail, who was fined RM40,000, was one of 49 current and former bank officers whom a source from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission had said were being charged in phases this month for allegedly receiving bribes from several law firms between 2018 and 2023.