WHILE it has yet to be determined if he is a fall guy or actual culprit, the good news is that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested the CEO of a private company for allegedly serving as a middleman in the distribution of government projects.
In fact, a source close to the matter linked the arrest to the graft busting agency’s investigation into the alleged misappropriation of COVID-19 stimulus packages worth RM92.5 bil by the former Perikatan Nasional-led (PN) government.
The source told the Free Malaysia Today (FMT) news portal that the MACC had opened investigation papers into at least five individuals believed to have been involved in helping companies obtain projects worth between RM50 mil to RM500 mil through direct negotiations linked to the stimulus packages.
The source further noted that several contractors who were also quizzed on their involvement admitted to agreeing to pay a commission of between 3%-5% to be deposited into the account of a political party which was supposedly meant as political funding.
The CEO who was believed to have accepted bribes to connect contractors and other parties was brought to the Putrajaya magistrates’ court this morning (Jan 6) and remanded for five days, according to the source.
“When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed the arrest and said the case was being investigated under Section 16 (a) of the MACC Act 2009,” reported FMT.
“According to the source, the 42-year-old CEO was arrested when he went to MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya to provide evidence last night (Jan 5).”
The source further revealed to FMT that almost 90% of the projects that were dished out through direct negotiations have not been implemented as no acceptance letters were issued.
“Thus, MACC will focus on investigating the remaining 10% of ongoing projects. These projects are currently at only 10% to 20% of work completed,” the source added.
On Dec 15, The Star reported that anti-graft investigators commenced their investigation into allegations of leakages in the economic stimulus package worth RM92.5 bil by the previous administration with multiple raids carried out, including on eight government agencies.
It is learnt that investigators had also paid a visit to nine companies which were main suppliers. The raids were carried out around the Klang Valley.
Sources in the MACC had told the mainstream newspaper that the raids were the first phase of investigation carried out to look into claims of leakages. – Jan 6, 2023
