Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo speaks at the Malaysiakini E-Commerce Entrepreneurship Summit in Seri Kembangan October 11, 2018. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

SERI KEMBANGAN, Oct 11 — The amount of money suspected to have been embezzled from the National Film Development Corp Malaysia (Finas) could be higher than the initial estimate of RM16 million, Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo said today.

He said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is investigating RM25 million missing from Finas.

“Actually, the MACC’s investigations involve RM25 million,” he told reporters at the Malaysiakini E-Commerce Entrepreneurship Summit.

He said his ministry, which oversees Finas, is in the process of carrying out an internal audit, and will submit its findings to the MACC for further probe as it involves numerous accounts.

He said he will provide more information once the audit is completed.

“The main thing is the audit will involve two matters, the first being Finas’ serious financial issues.

“Secondly, its financial system will also have to be looked at, and as I said before, Finas is currently being restructured with its new board to be announced in a few days,” Gobind said.

He said the new board will also conduct its own checks of Finas’ previous affairs, and will include anything it finds in the audit report or make the relevant reports to either the MACC or police if the need arises.

However, Gobind denied that former Finas director-general Datuk Fauzi Ayob and his deputy Datuk Azmir Saifuddin Mutalib were relieved of their posts on Monday due to the investigations.

Fauzi and Azmir are temporarily replaced by ministry deputy secretary-general Shakib Ahmad Shakir and its finance division deputy secretary Fairul Azida Shahabudin, respectively.

“We changed them since we are bringing in a new team (the board) who will not only see what is happening, but also give me any ideas on restructuring so that Finas can move forward.

“The film industry has expanded rapidly in the past few years, especially in this digital world. The whole industry is changing; hence, the need for a new board who can give new ideas for Finas to remain relevant,” he said, adding that it is not connected in any way to the missing funds.

It was earlier reported that in 2015 and 2016, RM16 million from Finas’ funds were provided to several film production companies for seven films, but they have yet to be released.