22 nabbed by MACC in Mitra funds probe

 

A recipient of a Mitra food aid package last year. The MACC has been investigating alleged misuse of funds from the government agency. (Mitra Facebook pic)

PUTRAJAYA: Twenty-two people, including company directors and association presidents, were detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in seven states yesterday in an investigation into misappropriation of funds from the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra).

The operations were held in Perak, Selangor, Kedah, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka.

MACC sources said among those arrested were the secretaries of an association and an organisation.

Six people arrested yesterday have been placed in remand for four to six days in Selangor, Kedah and Putrajaya. The rest were released on MACC bail.

The source said the MACC had previously identified 337 companies, associations and non-governmental organisations that had been approved for receiving grants from an allocation of about RM203 million from 2019 to 2021.

According to the source, the focus of the MACC’s investigation in the initial phase was on 27 companies, associations and NGOs that had received allocations of between RM1 million to RM9 million.

In October, the MACC had arrested 18 people from 10 companies, associations and NGOs.

The source said the second phase involved 17 companies and organisations who were among those who received funds of between RM1 million and RM9 million.

According to the source, the MACC is also working with the Ministry of National Unity by setting up a special internal investigation team to focus on companies that have received allocations of less than RM1 million.

“The focus of this internal investigation will be to examine all forms of applications, expenditure reports and programmes that are said to have been implemented by the recipients of Mitra’s allocation grants from 2019 to 2021,” he said.

In October last year, Klang MP Charles Santiago asked national unity minister Halimah Sadique to explain where the RM9.1 million fund from Mitra had been spent. On Oct 9 Halimah was reported to have said that the ministry was ready to give full cooperation to MACC on issues related to Mitra’s financial grants. - FMT