PUTRAJAYA: Two men have been remanded in separate investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) linked to the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into Tabung Haji.
The suspects, a company director and a former estate manager of a rubber seedling supplier, were arrested separately on Monday over alleged bribery and contract misappropriation.
Both men, who are in their 50s, were detained after turning up at the MACC headquarters to have their statements recorded.
The Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court granted a two-day remand order until today for the company director and a three-day remand order until tomorrow for the former estate manager.
Sources said the company director is alleged to have bribed a former chief operating officer of a statutory body by carrying out renovation works worth about RM300,000 on four houses owned by the former executive.
“The alleged offences are believed to have taken place between 2014 and 2018, with the renovation works allegedly provided in exchange for assistance in securing renovation projects,” a source said.
Meanwhile, the former estate manager is accused of misappropriating contracts worth about RM8mil involving the supply of rubber seedlings to two plantation companies that are subsidiaries of a statutory body.
“Initial investigations indicate that the alleged offences took place between 2015 and 2017,” another source said.
Both arrests stemmed from investigations by a special task force established to review the findings of the RCI, which were made public on July 29.
When contacted, MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman confirmed the arrests.
Previously, it was reported that the MACC had deployed eight investigating officers to the Lembaga Tabung Haji (LTH) headquarters to begin investigations into the RCI’s findings.
Abd Halim said the probe followed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s directive to act on the recently released RCI report.
He added that investigators had started identifying documents and individuals associated with the issues raised by the RCI.
The RCI report, which is available on the official website of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, suggested that forensic audits should be done to look into past investment choices that badly damaged LTH’s assets.
The inquiry covered LTH’s management and operations from 2014 to 2020 and identified several problematic investments that require forensic audits.
The 211-page report highlighted weaknesses in LTH’s governance structure, financial management practices and investment decisions that allegedly affected the institution’s financial position.
It also found evidence of suspicious transactions and the concealment of information.
Among its key findings was that LTH had recorded a deficit between its assets and liabilities since 2014.
A review by PricewaterhouseCoopers also found that had the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards been fully complied with, LTH should have reported a net loss of RM1.4bil in 2017 instead of the RM3.4bil profit that was declared.
