EPF CONSIDERS LEGAL ACTION
Fund concerned over recent allegations of misconduct by irresponsible parties
THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is considering taking legal action against irresponsible parties who have deliberately tarnished its image.
EPF, in a statement yesterday, said the planned move was due to repeated attempts to harm its reputation and cast doubt on its integrity.
Recently, there was a spate of allegations about the transfer of funds and bonds out of the EPF through fraudulent means.
“We refute these allegations and reiterate that the alleged letters and proposals are forged documents. The proposal in question was never presented to the EPF and was never under consideration,” said the fund.
It reiterated that there had been no transfer of any funds nor bonds as alleged.
“Arising from the recent annual audit conducted by the National Audit Department, we can confirm that the bonds in question remain in the ownership of the EPF, via confirmation received from PayNet in January this year.”
PayNet is an approved payment system operator regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia, and is also a Bank Negara subsidiary.
EPF stressed that the purported transactions had never happened, and both RHB Bank Bhd and HSBC Bank had issued statements refuting the allegations.
It reassured the public that it has a strong and robust governance framework in place to prevent fraud on its members’ funds.
“The EPF’s governance framework requires all proposals to first go through a stringent investment evaluation process, which includes comprehensive analysis, risk assessment and due diligence by its team of experts.
“Once the proposal passes the first stage of assessment, it is then subject to rigorous deliberation by the management investment committee, which comprises senior members of the investment division as well as members of EPF’s top management.
“Only after being endorsed by the committee will the proposal papers be brought to the investment panel for further consideration before final approval,” it said.
The panel comprises industry professionals, senior members of the EPF management, as well as representatives from Bank Negara and the government.