A chief executive officer and the company’s chief financial officer have been detained for suspicion of receiving money over a project worth RM17 million to supply equipment for military vehicles.
The 45-year-old Datuk, and the CFO, a 53-year-old woman, were arrested at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters on Sunday (May 12) night when they were called to give their statements.
The MACC requested that they be remanded and magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim allowed the duo to be held for four days beginning Monday (May 13).
The two suspects supposedly received hundreds of thousands from several companies in relation to the award of a defence contract.
The contract pertains to the supplying of equipment for the Deftech AV8 Gempita and ACV-300 Adnan armoured combat vehicles to a defence agency, between 2014 and 2017.
The Gempita is an eight-wheel armoured vehicle that comes in several variants and principally serves as an armoured personnel carrier or infantry fighting vehicle in the Malaysian Army. It reportedly entered service in December 2014.
The Adnan, meanwhile, is a tracked vehicle serving similar roles as the Gempita in the army.
Both types are produced by DRB-Hicom Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) in Pekan, in collaboration with the Turkish defence company FNSS.
MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki said investigators seized RM100,000 in cash and confiscated documents in relation to the project.
He said the case is being investigated under Section 16 (a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, which deals with the offence of accepting gratification.
The offence is punishable with up to 20 years’ imprisonment upon conviction, as well as a fine at least five times the value of the gratification.
Azam said several witnesses have also been called up for questioning today, and more people might be questioned to facilitate investigations.