IPOH, Aug 3 ― The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has detained a former chief executive officer of Amanjaya Careers Centre (PeKA) to assist investigations into fraud allegations involving the centre.
Perak MACC director Datuk Zainul Darus said the 43-year-old man was arrested at the commission's office here at 3.50am today, following a series of raids on several premises.
He declined to name the agency’s former CEO, adding that he had been remanded for seven days.
The fraud allegations revolve around claims made by a consultancy firm hired by PeKA, which was formed to help fresh graduates find jobs.
The Perak state government went to the MACC after they suspected that the company made the false claims while misleading the centre's board of directors.
Based on their initial findings, Zairul said the commission found that the company, which is owned by the former CEO, made RM9.18 million in claims over a five-year period.
“This included RM8 million in consultancy claims, RM1.14 million in rental and utility claims, and RM40,000 in programmes that were not carried out,” he told a press conference today.
“However, we are still investigating how many of these claims are false.”
He said the former CEO was placed under custody to assist the investigation, as the commission did not want the probe to be compromised.
“After the report was lodged, we searched several premises, including PeKA, the state secretariat building, the consultant company's offices in Putrajaya, and several government offices,” Zainul said.
“There, we found several documents including payment vouchers, invoices and agreements.”
Zainul said the commission expected to call around 30 witnesses during the course of the investigation, including the centre's board of directors.
He added that the investigation could involve other companies, as there was a possibility that the company had outsourced some work to other companies.
“We want to speak to the board of directors to find out if they knew about what was going on. We also want to learn more about the centre's activities,”
Zainul said the MACC would endeavour to complete the investigation fully and rapidly, adding that the case was being probed for falsifying claims under Section 18 of the MACC Act.
On August 1, the Perak government alleged that the company, which was appointed by PeKA in 2012, provided false information on several issues, including the number of yearly job placements in the state.
The state also claimed that company allegedly shirked payments of Employee Provident Fund contributions, Telekom Malaysia (TM) bills and rental on its office in the Amanjaya Terminal here — which ran into hundreds of thousands of ringgit.
