KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will investigate the RM43.9mil in losses incurred by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) from their investment in FashionValet.
Following the MACC announcement, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Khazanah chairman, directed the sovereign wealth fund to conduct an internal audit on the matter.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the investigation is needed as it involves issues of funds and is a matter of public interest.
“The MACC assures the public that a comprehensive investigation will be conducted fairly and professionally.
“The public is urged to allow space for the investigation to proceed and to avoid speculating or engaging in ‘public trials’ against the parties involved,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Later, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, posted on X: “As chairman, I have directed Khazanah Nasional Bhd to conduct an internal audit to investigate the issues related to the recent investment losses amounting to RM43.9mil.
“This firm directive is meant to reinforce my previous instruction to the National Audit Department to audit 2,000 government-linked companies to establish a better governance system, and to ensure that all these companies fulfil their respective responsibilities and functions,” he said.
In a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said Khazanah and PNB had sold their shares in FashionValet to NXBT Partners for RM3.1mil last year.
Khazanah and PNB had in 2018 paid RM47mil – RM27mil and RM20mil respectively – for minority stakes in the fashion e-commerce platform.
On Thursday, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil instructed the two government-linked investment companies and FashionValet to explain the issue, owing to the widespread public interest in the matter.
On Friday, Datin Vivy Yusof and her husband Datuk Fadzaruddin Shah Anuar apologised for the debacle and announced that they would step down from their positions in FashionValet, which they founded.
In a post on Instagram, they also said that they took full responsibility for the failure of the investment.
Following that, Khazanah issued a statement to say that the divestment represented a “responsible exit to transfer ownership to a party who could help guide the company to a new growth trajectory”.
PNB, which followed suit, clarified that the investment had come from its proprietary funds and not the trust funds under Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd subscribed to by the public.
