MACC detains six Telekom cooperative officials including four Datuks

PUTRAJAYA: Six officials, four with a "Datuk" title, of a Telekom Malaysia (TM) cooperative were detained today by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over alleged power abuse and corruption.
The suspects were held for allegedly reaping personal gain by manipulating prices of consumer goods meant for purchase by the cooperative's members and hoodwinking them into investing in a multi-level marketing (MLM) company unrelated to the cooperative.
The suspects allegedly made hundreds of thousands of ringgit in commissions by placing about 450 members of the cooperative as their downline members under the MLM scheme.
Those detained were the cooperative's chairman, secretary, treasurer, a committee member, a committee member's wife and goods supplier.
Sources said the cooperative officials had allegedly plotted with a private company by purchasing consumer goods from it before re-selling the items again to the same company - with the whole process taking place only on paper.
When members of the cooperative intended to purchase the goods from the company, often at a much higher price, they took out loans from the cooperative and were supplied the items.
The supplier would then issue an invoice to the cooperative for payment.
The MACC learnt that there were elements of corruption when part of the profits from the higher priced goods were allegedly channelled to the detained cooperative officials.
The MACC also found that the suspects had allegedly abused their powers by discreetly registering the members who took loans from the cooperative as their "downliners" of a MLM.
The affected members who took loans and invested in the MLM were unaware they were listed as downline members of the suspects.
It is learnt that the suspects are expected to be taken to the magistrate's court here tomorrow to have a remand order issued against them.
On Monday, MACC commissioner Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad had told the media during an event that "it was just a matter of time" the officials of the cooperative would be hauled up for investigations.