PUTRAJAYA: The 47-year-old leader of a “project tender” syndicate busted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Sunday was found to own assets and cash worth hundreds of millions of ringgit.
Sources said apart from several luxury cars belonging to the suspect who has a Datukship, investigators also learnt that he owns two helicopters, a luxury yacht and a motorhome recreational vehicle (RV).
Yesterday, the MACC seized RM3.5 million from the suspect’s house in a raid.
Sources said the commission also froze cash and assets of the suspect worth over RM145 million which comprised bungalows, shophouses, office units, vehicles and cash found in 644 bank accounts of companies and individuals.
The suspect who is the mastermind behind the syndicate was among seven people arrested for securing and monopolising the award of 354 government projects and tenders worth RM3.8 billion.
Yesterday, the MACC arrested an eighth suspect, a 38-year-old senior officer of a government agency, at his house in Ampang for his alleged involvement with the cartel.
Sources said the suspect who is a quantity surveyor is believed to have leaked information on the specifications of projects to facilitate the cartel’s preparations of documents for tenders.
Investigations showed that the officer who was entrusted to prepare the bill of quantity (BQ) for his department had allegedly received bribes totalling RM1.2 million from the cartel on four occasions.
He was remanded today (Tuesday) for further investigations.
MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki confirmed the arrests but declined further comments.
MACC also found that the cartel has 150 companies registered under it and had placed 114 individuals as directors, paying them between RM5,000 and RM8,000 a month.
The companies, all of which were owned by the prime suspect, were used to apply for tenders offered by ministries and government agencies.
MACC investigators learnt that to optimise the confidence of its clients, the cartel which had been active since 2014 had submitted false paperwork such as its financial status and the academic and professional qualification of its directors in almost all its companies.
