(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The Office of the Ombudsman has indicted at least 40 individuals, mostly immigration officers, involved in the “pastillas” bribery scam.

Among those charged for violating of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act was former Immigration deputy commissioner Marc Red Mariñas, previously tagged as the mastermind of the scam.

In a document released to the media on Tuesday, the Ombudsman said the accused people “allowed the entry of foreign passengers into the country without going through regular and stringent profiling or screening processes in violation of existing immigration rules and procedures to the prejudice of the government and public interest.”

Uncovered in early 2020, the bribery scheme allegedly provided an advantage to foreign travelers, especially Chinese nationals, to enter the Philippines without conducting background checks in exchange for money—rolled up using bond paper, giving the scheme the name “pastillas”.

Based on the charge sheet, Chinese suppliers “acted as conduits between the travel agencies and the Immigration officers (IOs) manning the Immigration counters at NAIA Terminals 1 and 2.”