Ex-bank sales manager fined RM210,000 for housing loan referral graft

2026-02-02 - 06:47

Faqih Mustapha committed the offences at a bank in Graha Peladang, Jalan Hang Tuah, between May 2018 and September 2022. (Facebook pic) PETALING JAYA: A former bank sales manager was fined RM210,000 by the Melaka sessions court today after pleading guilty to 20 charges of accepting RM211,636 in bribes between 2018 and 2022. Bernama reported that Faqih Mustapha, 37, pleaded guilty after the charges were read before judge Elesabet Paya Wan. He was accused of receiving 19 transfers ranging from RM880 to RM16,723, deposited into his sister’s bank account, and one transfer into his own account, as an inducement to help law firms obtain referrals for housing loan cases from the bank where he worked. Faqih was also accused of failing to report the receipt of these bribes to a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer or police officer, as required under Section 25(1) of the MACC Act 2009. He committed the offences at a bank in Graha Peladang, Jalan Hang Tuah, between May 2018 and September 2022, according to the charges under Section 25(2) of the same Act which provides for a maximum fine of RM100,000, imprisonment of up to 10 years or both. His lawyer, Azrul Zulkifli Stork, asked for the minimum fine for each alternative charge, saying this was Faqih’s first offence, and that he regretted his actions and was currently unemployed. However, deputy public prosecutor Sharina Farhana Nor Sa’ari urged the court to impose a commensurate sentence. Faqih was ordered to pay the RM210,000 fine, failing which he would have to serve two to four months in prison. He settled the fine. The court also ordered the return of RM87,000 in bail money to the accused.