Lim said Treasury officials have lodged a report with the MACC on the Finance Ministry’s subsidiary Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER). ― Picture by Azneal Ishak

KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has raided a company involved in an alleged RM9.4 billion scandal that was recently discovered, with its staff now placed on garden leave, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

Lim said Treasury officials have lodged a report with MACC on the Finance Ministry’s subsidiary Suria Strategic Energy Resources Sdn Bhd (SSER), with the latter’s office having since been raided.

“The Finance Ministry has taken control over SSER offices. All of its employees have been placed on ‘garden leave’ until further notice.

“The SSER President, Datuk Mohammed Azhar bin Osman Khairuddin, has been removed as a director of the company,” he said in a statement today.

Lim said the Finance Ministry is also in the process of appointing an executive committee to be led by an accounting firm, noting that this exco will be in charge of operating both SSER and investigating the transactions carried out by the company.

Lim was providing an update on the Treasury officials’ actions after the discovery of the alleged scandal, where 88 per cent was paid out to the China company contracted to do the work despite only an average of 13 per cent of work recorded as completed.

“The Pakatan Harapan Federal government would like to assure Malaysians that all necessary measures shall be taken to uncover the truth.

“We will take any required action against any party responsible to protect taxpayers’ interest,” he said in his statement today.

Last Tuesday, Lim revealed the discovery of the new RM9.4 billion scandal that was hidden away in the Finance Ministry’s “red” files that were inaccessible by even the auditor-general.

The scandal revolves around both the RM5.35 billion MPP project for a 600km-long multi-product petroleum pipeline linking Melaka and Port Dickson to Jitra, and also the RM4.06 billion TSGP project in Sabah to build a 662km-long gas pipeline from Kimanis Gas Terminal to Sandakan and Tawau.

Lim said that RM8.3 billion or 88 per cent of the RM9.4 billion value has been disbursed, even though the MPP and TSGP projects were recorded as having only 14.5 per cent and 11.4 per cent of the works completed by the end of March 2018.