KUCHING: Individuals involved in the decisions to award contracts for the supply and management of government vehicles to Spanco Sdn Bhd (Spanco) will be summoned to assist in the investigation.
The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the individuals also included former prime minister and finance minister.
He added that statements from all those involved in the contract award were necessary to complete the investigation of the case.
"We will summon anyone who during the period had made decisions to award the contract to Spanco.
"We will also look at the company's history establishment somewhere between 1998 or 1999 and anyone who is involved during that period, including the prime minister and finance minister, will be summoned to have their statement recorded," he said.
Azam said this during a press conference after the Combating Corruption programme with the Sarawak media practitioners, today.
Azam, however, said that the graft buster was not currently prosecuting anyone because the probe was still in its early stages, and that his officers were still reviewing the case facts.
"The issue was reported to MACC due to a dispute following the cancellation of a contract involving one company and how Spanco has been consistently awarded contracts since then (the 1990s). Hence, this is the current focus of the investigation.
"Meanwhile, we have summoned over 20 individuals and have frozen about 80 accounts of companies and individuals related to the case," he said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government's agreement with Spanco was detrimental to the country.
Anwar also said that he had been vigilant about the issue during his tenure as the finance minister under the administration of Tun Dr Mahathir.
Previously, NST reported that MACC had conducted a raid on the residence of a businessman with the title of Tan Sri for an investigation into allegations of corruption involving the procurement and management of the government's fleet of vehicles worth RM4.5 billion.
The concession for the supply and management of government vehicles has been held by Spanco Sdn Bhd since 1993. However, an open tender was initiated after the contract expired in 2019.