THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has uncovered more cases of monopoly of government contracts in other departments.

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the anti-graft agency is working with the Finance Ministry to vet the procurement process of government contracts.

“We are monitoring other departments where we have found cartels and monopoly,” he said.

“We will work with the Finance Ministry to scrutinise the procurement process so that we can resolve the issue of cartels and monopoly.”

Azam, however, declined to reveal whether those nabbed in the recent cases were linked to this latest development.

MACC had previously detained eight individuals who were linked to a syndicate monopolising hundreds of project tenders from ministries and government agencies over the last seven years.

Among those detained was the 47-year-old head of the syndicate.

It was reported that this syndicate had bagged 345 tenders worth more than RM3.8 billion since 2014.

The leader controlled more than 150 companies that applied to the ministries and agencies for projects.

He owned the firms but hired company directors to serve as fronts.

It is learnt that the companies were used on rotation to enter tenders/quotations in ministries and government agencies.

The syndicate focused on facility maintenance and development projects.

The classified information of the tenders, including project specifications and ceiling price, would then be channelled by “insiders” in the ministry or government agency.

MACC has also found that the syndicate had used several individuals as nominees to set up companies under their names. The individuals were paid a monthly salary and commission for serving as nominees on paper. – May 4, 2021.