KUALA LUMPUR: A former chief executive officer of a government-linked statutory body and a company chairman have been remanded over alleged involvement in a suspicious share transaction.
A four-day remand order until April 12, was issued against the two men by magistrate Azeren Zakariah after an application by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at the Putrajaya magistrate's court on Thursday (April 9).
Sources said the suspects, believed to be in their 40s and 50s, were arrested at about 6pm on Wednesday (April 8) when they turned up to give their statements at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
Initial investigations revealed that both individuals are suspected of colluding with several board members and shareholders of a company in a share sale transaction involving the statutory body between 2022 and 2023.
"The initial probe found that the share sale is believed to have involved an unreasonable valuation, or overvaluation, which was not commensurate with its actual worth, resulting in estimated losses of more than RM300mil in public funds," a source said.
The source added that the MACC Special Operations Division had conducted raids at 13 locations, including government-linked agencies, companies of public interest, office premises and residences around the Klang Valley.
In addition to the arrests, a total of 62 personal and company bank accounts linked to the case, involving approximately RM450mil, have been frozen as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, MACC Special Operations Division senior director Datuk Mohamad Zamri Zainul Abidin confirmed the arrests when contacted, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 16 of the MACC Act 2009.
He said investigations are also being carried out for criminal breach of trust and other related offences, particularly those involving money laundering.
