New MACC chief: No further action on IJM chairman, RM2.5 bil allegation baseless; other probes ongoing

KUALA LUMPUR (May 20): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) said an investigation related to Sunway Bhd’s (KL:SUNWAY) bid to take over IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM) is ongoing, according to Bernama.

The news came almost two months after Sunway said it had received formal notification from the commission clearing it of any wrongdoing in the takeover bid.

The commission found elements that could be investigated under the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLA), new chief commissioner Abd Halim Aman was quoted as saying by Bernama.

However, he also reportedly said that Sunway's proposed acquisition of IJM was carried out in accordance with the legal and regulatory framework set by the Securities Commission Malaysia.

Nevertheless, Abd Halim said the MACC had recorded statements from 13 individuals to assist in the investigation, involving two individuals.

“The investigation papers for this case are still active because through investigations conducted by the MACC, we found elements that can be investigated under the relevant laws,” he told the news agency after a working visit to the Selangor MACC office on Wednesday.

He also confirmed that the MACC’s investigation into IJM chairman Krishnan Tan had been classified as “no further action” after finding no elements of criminal conduct, misconduct or breaches of corporate governance.

Investigations into allegations of RM2.5 billion in money laundering linked to IJM were also found to be baseless, he said, after the MACC conducted joint investigations with Bank Negara Malaysia, the Inland Revenue Board and the UK’s Serious Fraud Office.

“The investigation found that it involved minor assets in the form of legitimate financial investments through international banking institutions and managed professionally through lawful channels,” he was quoted as saying.

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office also confirmed that it had never conducted any investigation related to the alleged flow of funds, he said.

IJM previously said in a bourse filing on March 24 that it had received a letter from the MACC clarifying that the commission's investigation was "confined to several individuals associated with IJM, and not the company itself".

The investigations were made public on March 4 when former MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, who stepped down last week, told the media that the MACC was examining whether there were elements of corruption, abuse of power or governance breaches in the Sunway-IJM takeover bid, noting that the matter involved public funds as both companies have government-linked shareholders.

At the time, Azam revealed that the commission had three ongoing investigations linked to IJM, including the Sunway-IJM deal. The RM11 billion offer was made on Jan 12 to acquire all 3.5 billion shares in IJM at RM3.15 per share. The deal — comprising 10% cash and 90% new Sunway shares — lapsed after Sunway failed to get least 50% acceptance from IJM shareholders at the close of the offer on April 6.

Of the other two IJM-linked probes, one involved an allegation of bribery linked to a project. The other involved an alleged RM2.5 billion money laundering scheme and overseas asset transaction, which led to a raid on IJM's offices in January and the freezing of several bank accounts. IJM had refuted these allegations.

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