EPF refutes fraudulent withdrawal allegations

PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has refuted allegations “by irresponsible parties” that it is party to any fraudulent withdrawals.

In a statement, the EPF reassured members that it has a strong and robust governance framework in place to prevent fraud on members’ funds.

As of Dec 31, 2017, the EPF had received total contributions worth RM768.51bil. It has more than 14 million members.

The EPF’s corporate affairs department issued the statement in response to a recent spate of allegations “by irresponsible parties” on the transfer of large funds and bonds out of the EPF through fraud- ulent means, the latest being a report front-paged by The Canberra Times on March 6, 2018 as well as a story in the Sarawak Report. Both refer to a series of property investments in Canberra and Sydney which never materialised, but for which commissions worth millions of Australian dollars are being sought via a series of solicitors’ letters. The Sarawak Report alludes to RM10.64bil worth of bonds assigned to Limage Holdings SA “to supposedly leverage billions in US dollars, allegedly to fund a shadowy hospital project managed through a one-woman Malaysian enterprise named TJJR Diversified (M) Sdn Bhd”.

The EPF statement said: “We refute these allegations and reiterate that the letters and proposals are forged documents.”

The EPF said there was no transfer of any funds or bonds as alleged.

It also said that the bonds in question remain in the ownership of the EPF, via confirmation received from PayNet in January 2018.

PayNet is an approved payment system operator regulated by Bank Negara, as well as being a subsidiary of the central bank, the EPF said.

Both RHB and HSBC, who have been implicated, have also refuted the allegations, the EPF said.

The Canberra Times reported that a public servant received demand via solicitors’ letters for more than A$20mil after an A$1bil property deal involving the Malaysian government fell through.

According to the Australian paper, Nic Manikis is a former senior official at the Community Services Directorate in the Australian Capital Territory.

He was also a listed director for Ladylaw Securities, a property development company incorporated in Singapore. That business wound up last November.

According to The Canberra Times, in 2014, while also working as a public servant, Manikis said he met representatives from the Malaysian government, including EPF, to discuss a “mammoth” series of property investments in Canberra and Sydney worth A$1bil.

We refute these allegations and reiterate that the letters and proposals are forged documents. Employees Provident Fund