The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has remanded a chief executive officer of a company who acted as a middleman in the distribution of government projects under the Economic Stimulus Package from 2020 to 2022.
According to sources, the 42-year-old man was remanded for five days until January 10, 2023.
The MACC had previously issued a statement regarding the investigation which focused on government funds amounting to RM92.5 billion under the economic stimulus and recovery program under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.
Graft busters opened several investigation papers against at least five individuals who are believed to be masterminds or middlemen to several companies to obtain projects worth between RM50 million to RM500 million through direct negotiations.
“Almost 90 percent of the projects that were given through direct negotiations have not been implemented as no acceptance letters were issued,” the source was quoted as saying.
“Thus, MACC will focus on investigating the remaining 10 percent of ongoing projects. These projects are currently at only 10 percent to 20 percent of work completed,” a source was quoted as saying.
According to another source, the suspect is believed to have accepted bribes to connect contractors and higher-level officers.
So far, some of the contractors who have been questioned admitted to agreeing to pay a commission of 3 to 5% and to put it into the account of a political party meant for political funding.
MACC Chief Azam Baki when contacted confirmed the arrest adding that the case is being investigated under Section 16 (a) of the MACC Act 2009.
Earlier today, an online portal reported that the suspect was arrested when he went to MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya to provide evidence last night.