http://www.thestar.com.my/
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be calling up more witnesses to assist in the case involving the misappropriation of some RM107mil in government funds.
MACC investigations division director Datuk Azam Baki said witnesses from the ministry and the government agency were expected to be called up today over the case.
“We will be calling them up as we need to verify some procedures and how the payments were made to the companies,” he said yesterday.
He added that the MACC was also investigating if there were other companies involved.
But Azam said that no new arrests were made since the MACC nabbed a division secretary of a government agency who was the mastermind of the syndicate involved on Friday.
The 56-year-old man was nabbed along with eight others, including a woman, who were contractors from 14 companies that were receiving payments for programmes under a ministry that were never carried out.
MACC also seized 12 luxury cars, jewellery, luxury watches and branded handbags and froze a total of 69 accounts worth RM8.33mil.
Azam Baki said earlier that the mastermind was believed to have received a total of RM20mil in kickbacks with more than RM8mil found in his accounts.
Investigations showed that they had been operating since 2010 but MACC did not rule out the possibility that they may have been active prior to that.
The senior officer also received other kickbacks from the contractors including houses, luxury cars, insurance and trust fund payments worth millions of ringgit as well as supplementary credit cards.
He also led a lavish lifestyle and bought luxury watches and branded handbags with some worth up to RM400,000 each.
The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act while those detained have been remanded for a week.