“They either asked for exemption, settlement, the mode of payment or are prepared to cooperate to tell us who actually used that money.

“We are happy to get information so we can move forward,” said MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya after the Media Appreciation Night here today.

She said some of those slapped with the compound fines had made representation by letter, saying they were willing to pay but could not afford the amount demanded.

She said some others were prepared to pay but said they were not the final recipients.

“So if they are prepared to cooperate by telling us who illegally received the money in the end, we will go after that person,” she said.

Latheefa said some of them had lodged police reports and now MACC would take the necessary action to further investigate the matter.

On the issue of cross-border smuggling, Latheefa said the matter was still under investigation and it would depend on the cooperation extended by the police and customs.

“It is an ongoing operation and police have made arrests and rotated staff.

“We hope more people would come forward to help in the probe into cross-border smuggling,” she said.