KUALA LUMPUR (March 30): Mass Rapid Transit Corp Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) said it had not received any report or information from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) pertaining to the graft offences allegedly committed by a director of a construction company involved in an MRT project.

MRT Corp said this in a statement on Thursday (March 30) in response to news reports about a director of a construction company for an MRT line project being charged with bribery and money laundering.

The company said it is ready to fully and faithfully cooperate with any investigation into the case.

It also reiterated that it will not tolerate any form of corruption within its project ecosystem, and reminded its business partners, contractors and subcontractors that those involved could have their contracts terminated and be blacklisted. 

Bernama reported on Wednesday that the Sessions Court had charged construction company director G Paismanathan with two counts of giving bribes amounting to S$655,766 (RM2.18 million), and one charge of money laundering amounting to RM4.13 million.

He reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was granted RM500,000 bail with one surety.

Paismanathan was accused of giving S$655,766 to the chief executive officer of MRT Corp via a proxy as a bribe to ensure that Colas Rail System Engineering Sdn Bhd, which was taken over by Pestech Technology Sdn Bhd, continued the MRT Line 2 project (Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya) worth more than RM693 million.

He was charged with committing the offence on Dec 28, 2017, and Jan 9, 2018, at Taman Melawati, Gombak under Section 16(b)(B) of the MACC Act 2009, punishable under Section 24(1) of the same Act.

At the time, MRT Corp was helmed by Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar — who served from Jan 5, 2015 to Dec 31, 2018.

As for the money laundering charge, the accused was charged with transferring proceeds from illegal activities, namely money amounting to RM4.13 million, from an account belonging to Colas Rail System Engineering to an account belonging to Siaz Holding Bhd.

He was charged with committing the offence between Nov 16 and Dec 27, 2017 at the Maybank branch in Taman Subang Perdana, Petaling under Section 4(1)(b) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorist Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001, punishable under Section 4(1) of the same Act.

A check with the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that as at Feb 19, 2023, Siaz was 70%-owned by Mohamad Zukhairi Abdull Rahim, while the remaining 30% was held by Shahreena Ruduwan.

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MRT construction company director charged with corruption, money laundering