KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said that investigations into a businessman with the title of “Tan Sri” for corruption related to the supply and management of the government’s fleet of vehicles worth RM4.5 billion are still ongoing.
Speaking to Scoop, its chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said that the investigation has been expanded to include the “right-hand people” of the businessman, including shareholders and board members of the company.
“Investigations are still ongoing. MACC officers are investigating how the company procured the contract (to supply and manage the government’s fleet of vehicles) since 2000,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources said the businessman is a proxy for a tycoon who is now also being investigated by the MACC regarding allegations of corruption and money laundering based on information from the Pandora Papers.
On January 19, Scoop reported that the MACC raided the residence of a businessman as part of an investigation into alleged corruption related to the procurement and management of the Malaysian government’s vehicle fleet.
It is a continuation of the MACC investigation since July of last year.
Additionally, several related companies were raided to complete MACC’s investigation.
In 2020, then Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Ahmad Badri Mohd Zahir revealed that since October 30, 1993, the concession for the Malaysian government’s vehicle fleet had been entrusted to a private limited company owned by a Tan Sri.
This arrangement was formalised through a Concession Agreement between the Malaysian government and the company.
However, Badri stressed that in order to efficiently manage the government’s vehicle fleet in the future, the government has decided to select the concessionaire company through an open request for proposal.
In other words, there will be no limited tender or direct awarding of tenders. – January 26, 2024