PenjanaKerjaya: CEO and company director nabbed for false claims amounting to RM100mil

PUTRAJAYA: A chief executive officer and a director of a company have been arrested in connection with allegations of submitting false claims and misappropriation of the PenjanaKerjaya programme funds, said to be amounting to RM100mil.

It is learnt that the two were nabbed in Kuala Lumpur around 1.30pm on Sunday (July 17).

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The 41-year-old company director has been remanded for four days until July 21 after Magistrate Mohd Dinie Shazwan Ab Shukor allowed an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

The second individual, a 40-year-old woman, was released after investigators recorded her statement.

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Sources said that the suspects were believed to have submitted invoices for the hiring incentive training programme with false details to the Social Security Organisation (Socso).

"This is so that the company can receive payment allocated under the National Economic Recovery Plan amounting to RM700,000 when the programme was not fully implemented," said the sources on Monday (July 18).

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MACC senior director of investigation Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim confirmed the arrests.

The MACC and Socso had launched an operation - codenamed Ops Hire to probe claims that certain employers and training providers had submitted false claims for the programme.

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PenjanaKerjaya was introduced in 2020 under the National Economic Recovery Plan, offering financial incentives of between RM600 and RM1,000 to employers for each employee or apprentice employed for up to six months.

Following the probe, Socso had suspended payments totalling RM423mil for the programme.