THE directors of a company at the heart of a Tourism Malaysia scandal have been remanded again, this time over allegedly submitting false documents to a leasing company in order to obtain an RM7 mil loan.
The directors, a 31-year-old woman and a 45-year-old man, of IO Movement Sdn Bhd purportedly collaborated with Tourism Malaysia staff to falsify documents in order to obtain the loan to carry out an advertising project under the agency.
The duo were remanded for six days until June 29 to allow the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the matter. Both were arrested on Tuesday when they presented themselves at the MACC headquarters for their statements to be recorded.
It is believed that the investigators are looking into the directors’ involvement in submitting false documents in relation to the RM90 mil advertising contract Tourism Malaysia awarded the company early this year.
That RM90 mil contract is also being investigated as the directors of the IO Movement allegedly bribed Tourism Malaysia officials to secure the deal. The first round of remands happened on June 10.
IO Movement’s clinching of the advertising award raised suspicions as it lacked the right qualification and failed a technical and financial evaluation.
Tourism Malaysia is under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. The scandal happened under the watch of then tourism minister Mohammadin Ketapi.
Checks by FocusM showed that the company only made a net profit of RM33,709 on the back of RM191,510 in revenue for the financial year 2016.
The company was founded by Ibrahim Ivan Omar and, according to company filings, the current directors of IO Movement are Rachel Chew Kay Leng Omar and Murada Nur.
Past directors were Mohamed Nazli Ab Halim and Mohd Adnan Idris. Nazli resigned on March 9 this year and was replaced by Murada, while Adnan quit on Aug 10, 2016.
IO Movement’s shareholders are Chew (90%) and Tunku Izrina Mazuin Tunku Iskandar (10%). Tunku Izrina was also a director from Nov 20, 2007 to Aug 8, 2016.
Further checks show that Chew is only a shareholder of IO Movement but Tunku Izrina is a director or shareholder of a clutch of companies.
Among them, she is a shareholder of Melewar Utama Sdn Bhd (9.99%), a subsidiary of Melewar Group Bhd, where her father Tunku Iskandar Tunku Abdullah is a director. Melewar Group’s shareholders and directors come from the Negeri Sembilan royal family.
IO Movement is described as a company providing consultancy services in public relations and communications. – June 25, 2020
