MACC raids FashionValet office as part of probe

The MACC raided FashionValet Sdn Bhd’s office in Kuala Lumpur today as part of investigations into the local fashion brand.

Four locations were raided simultaneously, said the anti-graft body in a TikTok video.

Khazanah Nasional Berhad and Permodalan Nasional Berhad’s (PNB) losses after investing public funds amounting to RM43.9 million are being investigated under Section 18 of the MACC Act 2009, which governs the offence of providing false claims.

“This investigation is important because it is a public interest case,” said an MACC official in the video.

According to a report by the New Straits Times, FashionValet’s financial filings showed the company experienced five years of significant losses before Khazanah and PNB’s investment in 2018.

During that year, FashionValet recorded a net loss of RM20.19 million.

“The company’s current liabilities in 2012 exceeded current assets by RM401,248 before it improved in 2017 to a net asset position of RM1.24 million.

“Interestingly between 2015 and 2017, total assets grew almost 300 percent to RM14.7 million, while total liabilities grew more than 100 percent to RM11.7 million.”

On Saturday, the MACC launched an investigation into the matter.

Due to the case involving public funds and interest, investigations must determine whether there are any criminal elements or issues of governance, said chief commissioner Azam Baki.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Khazanah’s chairperson, ordered the company to conduct an internal audit in line with his previous instruction for the National Audit Department to audit over 2,000 GLCs in the country.

Financial documents in hand

Meanwhile, Azam revealed today that the MACC obtained several documents from the Finance Ministry, Khazanah, and FashionValet.

Astro Awani quoted him saying the documents will be checked for financial issues.

“We will announce (developments) from time to time. (The investigation) just started last week.

“I announced the start of the investigation last Saturday, and the (MACC) office is not open on Saturday and Sunday, so we just started today,” he said.

The Finance Ministry, in a written parliamentary reply on Oct 28, said Khazanah and PNB’s share value in FashionValet had dropped by almost RM44 million when the business was sold in 2023 compared to the amount they spent in 2018.

It was also said Khazanah pumped in RM27 million and PNB RM20 million to acquire a minority stake in the fashion brand - in a plan to boost bumiputera businesses in the e-commerce sector.

However, the ministry said FashionValet was subsequently hit with financial troubles during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the same period being a major boon for other local e-commerce businesses.

Since the issue came into the spotlight, FashionValet and the two state-owned investment companies have been heavily criticised by the public.

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