Highway corruption: MACC seizes assets, freezes accounts of more than RM80 million - Azam Baki
31/05/2025
SHAH ALAM: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has seized assets and frozen bank accounts worth RM85.6 million following an investigation involving one Tan Sri in connection with the misappropriation of sukuk funds for the construction of highways in the Klang Valley.
Seizure of Assets Worth RM85.6 Million: MACC has seized 14 individual accounts, 8 company accounts, as well as various high-end assets including vehicles, properties, handbags, and watches believed to have been obtained through misused sukuk funds.
Misused Sukuk Funds: Money that was supposed to be used for highway construction was allegedly transferred to proxy companies and personal accounts, including being used for the purchase of luxury assets and gambling activities.
Investigation Still Ongoing: MACC is yet to record the testimony of the main individual due to his health condition, but 45 people have been called, and more witnesses will be called to complete the investigation.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said among those seized included 14 individual accounts amounting to RM4.5 million, eight company accounts amounting to RM33 million and luxury vehicles worth RM7.65 million.
According to him, other items also seized were a RM3 million handbag and a RM7 million luxury watch as well as a property worth RM24.5 million.
"We suspect that the sukuk funds amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit channelled to the contractor company owned by Tan Sri have been misused for personal gain and were not used for the purpose of financing related highway projects.
"The money was then distributed to certain companies and individuals, including to Tan Sri's account which acted as the main mover," he said when contacted on Saturday.
Azam said the funds were then transferred to several other entities, including the proxy company and the account of the individual's wife.
"The money was used for the purchase of various assets such as real estate, luxury vehicles, jewellery, and handbags including gambling activities.
"It is also channelled for personal expenses such as the purchase of domestic and foreign properties as well as investments, through various layered financial transactions aimed at obscuring the original source of funds," he said.
Azam said that for now, the MACC has not recorded Tan Sri's statement because of his health condition which is currently in the hospital ward.
"However, the investigation is still ongoing with the seizure of the assets, we will examine the acquisition of the property, in addition to obtaining financial documents from the bank including himself for analysis purposes in assisting the investigation," he said.
He said all those involved in assisting the investigation would be called for the recording of statements.
"I do not rule out that some of his family members will be called to assist in the investigation," he said.
He said so far a total of 45 people had been summoned to record their statements and between 30 and 50 more witnesses would be called to complete the investigation.
Earlier, Sinar Harian reported that the MACC seized various assets including handbags, jewellery, luxury vehicles, watches, cash and luxury residences estimated to be about RM32 million belonging to the individuals.
During the operation, the MACC also found a storage store of various types of luxury alcoholic beverages in one of the residences estimated to be worth about RM3 million and believed to be linked to money laundering activities.
MACC Strategic Communications Division explained that all goods and assets were seized for further investigation in accordance with the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act (AMLA) 2001.
Last month, the media reported that four individuals, including one Datuk Seri, were arrested on suspicion of making false claims amounting to about RM360 million.
The suspects, consisting of three men and a woman aged between 50 and 70, were arrested when they appeared to testify at the MACC office.
The four suspects are suspected of making false claims worth about RM360 million using sukuk funds in a highway construction project in the Klang Valley worth about RM1.30 billion between 2016 and 2017. -- Sinar Harian
