IPOH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he would address the issue of the Retirement Fund (Incorporated)’s (KWAP) investment losses in Indonesian aquaculture technology company eFishery during the Dewan Negara sitting on Monday (July 20).
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said that although KWAP did not report directly to the government, he did not want that to be used as an excuse.
"I will answer the question in the Dewan Negara (on Monday)... KWAP is a financial institution managing pension funds. It has an investment panel and a board.
"It does not report to us, but I do not want to use that as an excuse. Let us present the facts tomorrow in the Dewan Negara,” he said when asked about KWAP’s RM200mil investment loss in eFishery.
Previously, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman said a special team had been set up to conduct a comprehensive review of the matter.
The Finance Ministry said in a written parliamentary reply on Thursday (July 16) that KWAP had fallen victim to a planned fraud involving the investment following the manipulation of the Indonesian company’s financial statements by its management.
KWAP was reported to have invested US$47.7mil in eFishery in July 2023.
Last year, eFishery co-founder Gibran Huzaifah was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment by a court in Bandung, Indonesia, after being convicted of criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
Meanwhile, KWAP said in a statement on Saturday (July 18) that its total investment in eFishery amounted to RM163.4mil, representing about 2.51 per cent of the company’s total shareholding.
It said KWAP was a minority shareholder, while the majority stake was held by other investors, including major global institutional investors that were also affected by the misconduct.
According to KWAP, appropriate follow-up actions had been taken in accordance with its internal governance and accountability framework. – Bernama
