Aops pay visit to HRDF office
Police digging deeper into claims of abuse of power, CBT and misappropriation of funds.
PETALING JAYA: The police have seized documents following a raid on the Human Resources Development Fund’s (HRDF) main office in Damansara Heights.
The Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) is now digging deeper into allegations of abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and misappropriation of funds.
Bukit Aman CCID acting director Deputy Comm Datuk Saiful Azly Kamaruddin (pic) said no arrests were made and that investigating officers were still studying the seized documents.
“We are investigating the two police reports lodged against HRDF’s former board members.
“We are focusing our investigation on allegations of abuse of power, CBT and misappropriation of funds. Give us time to investigate and to study all segments of it,” DCP Saiful Azly said, adding the raid began at 10am yesterday.
Sources familiar with the ongoing investigation said statements were recorded from several people, adding the probe also included a trip undertaken by members of the National Press Club, allegedly involving some RM2.2mil.
HRDF CEO Elanjelian Venugopal, who was among those questioned, said the police did a detailed recording of his statement as they wanted to find out the entire chronology of every single suspected wrongdoing.
“We are giving our full cooperation. I made a police report some time back and they are here to record my statement.
“We welcome their presence here and we’ve been waiting for them. Not just the police but we’re also hoping that the Companies Commission of Malaysia and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will also come,” he said.
Elanjelian was appointed CEO in July last year after former HRDF CEO Datuk C. M. Vignaesvaran Jeyandran stepped down on June 21, when allegations of malpractice and misappropriation began to surface.
Meanwhile, a key figure implicated in the various scandals and three directors resigned soon after Pakatan Harapan took over as the government on May 9 last year.
“Whoever is responsible will be caught. We are now moving towards a new HRDF and my job is to convince our customers that we are now a new entity and that the levy will be used for the right purposes,” said Elanjelian.
In November, Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran had said that high-ranking staff of HRDF misappropriated about RM100mil out of RM300mil in the fund in recent years.
He also highlighted several wrongdoings, such as abuse of power, criminal breach of trust and making decisions without reporting to the board of directors.
Kulasegaran also set up a five-member independent Governance Oversight Committee to review and probe the allegations.
Three other senior staff members did not have their contract renewed after it expired.
The Star, in an exclusive report on Wednesday, also highlighted the purchase of a RM154mil property in Bangsar South which was done without the approval of the board of directors and investment panel.
Approval was given for another property in the same area but HRDF went on to make payments for the Bangsar South property with some RM40mil allegedly paid before the tax invoice date.
The investment panel was only informed of the switch of property purchased five months after the first tranche of RM15.4mil was paid.
The HRDF management lodged two police reports on the property purchase and the police have since referred the case to the MACC.