'Scammer' cons ex-deputy minister with non-existent project

Day by day, various types of financial scams are being exposed. However, the scammers are also becoming more adept at deceiving their victims.

Recently, there has been a revelation about a scam involving construction contracts for a highway - one that doesn't exist - resulting in losses amounting to millions of ringgit.

This scam was so meticulously planned and convincing that even a former deputy minister was deceived by the detailed project paperwork.

The scammers even invoked the name of a “cousin” of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, claiming he was the owner of the contractor company for the project.

“This is a joint project between a private company and the Finance Ministry. The owner of the development company of PMX.”

The above dialogue was used by the developer to deceive the victim, who is the owner of a security company whose services are supposedly needed to safeguard construction materials.

Several security company owners, including a former deputy minister from BN, revealed this to Malaysiakini recently.

They declined to disclose their names due to embarrassment.

The deputy minister under Najib Abdul Razak's administration said he paid RM250,000 as a “procurement commitment fee” that was supposed to be refundable.

“It was my son who made the payment without consulting me.

“However, I later discovered that the project was nowhere to be found,” he told Malaysiakini.

The project, which was supposed to start in 2022, never materialised and was never reported in any media.

Detailed ‘proposal’

According to the detailed 69-page “proposal” seen by Malaysiakini, it was claimed to be a privately funded initiative in collaboration with the Finance Ministry.

The proposal was to build a highway from Padang Besar, Perlis to Changkat Jering, Perak, spanning 276km in six years.

However, internal sources from the Finance, Transport and Works Ministries told the news portal that the project does not exist.

Finance Ministry sources said the idea might have been stolen and modified based on the Northern Corridor Highway project, which also runs from Padang Besar to Changkat Jering.

The prime minister's political secretary Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim denied that the Finance Ministry was involved in any highway construction project.

“Not true. It doesn't exist. Never fall for tricks from these people.

“Always check directly with the ministry and file a police report against these parties," he told Malaysiakini.

The company is purportedly owned by an individual with the title “Datuk Seri”. However, a check on a database of honorific titles showed that he had not been awarded such a title.

The individual's name is also almost identical, with only a slight spelling difference, to that of a former PKR leader who is often said to be Anwar's cousin.

Malaysiakini has contacted the development company through phone calls, emails, and registered mail but has received no response.

More victims

A security company director from Malacca said he paid RM750,000 to secure a security services contract.

He said the project, which was supposed to start in 2022, required over 700 security guards, divided into four zones throughout the project.

“The condition was that our company had to pay RM300,000 as procurement commitment fees (for one zone) to ensure the security contract was awarded to those who paid the money," he told Malaysiakini.

This condition was stated in the offer letter from the developer company dated Aug 9, 2023.

Another security company director said he paid RM300,000.

“I was interested when they said the executive chairperson of the development company is the prime minister's cousin.”

According to them, many more individuals were deceived by this non-existent project and some have lodged police reports.

However, Malaysiakini could not verify this as the victims encountered were reluctant to do so and are still hoping to recover their money.

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