PUTRAJAYA: The investigation involving misappropriation of funds from the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) has concluded with all the people involved charged by the court.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said they have also advised Mitra on the needed improvements in managing their funds.
"Apart from charging, we have also advised Mitra on the procedures they need to improve on and comply with.
"The case is considered closed with all people charged, for now," he said to reporters after attending the Communication and Digital Ministry Integrity Day celebrations today.
In 2021, Mitra was investigated by the MACC over allegations that funds had been misappropriated from 2019 to 2021.
Graft investigators discovered weaknesses in the management of Mitra, a special government unit set up to address the socio-economic development of the Indian community, specifically the B40 group.
Mitra did not require the recipients to submit detailed expenditure reports for validation and the culprits knew how to exploit this lack of scrutiny to their advantage, the report said.
A total of 337 companies, associations, and non-governmental organisations were identified to have been approved for Mitra grants from 2019 to 2021, with approximately RM203 million in allocations.
MACC opened 33 investigation papers into the misappropriation of the funds.