Sabah mining GLC bids to trigger probes against ex-CEO for alleged fraud, abuse

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — Sabah Mineral Management (SMM) Sdn Bhd today accused former chief executive officer Jontih Enggihon of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

According to Free Malaysia Today, the company also said it has lodged reports with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over Jontih’s alleged misconduct.

The current SMM CEO, Natasha Sim, said the alleged misconduct was discovered in an internal probe, and included fraud as well as misrepresentation.

“The investigation identified multiple instances where Jontih acted beyond his authority with actions intended to benefit entities with potential conflicts of interest, in collusion with a third party representing a cartel of interests.

“These actions were conducted without the knowledge or approval of the board of directors, constituting a serious breach of company policies and governance standards,” she was quoted as saying.

Sim said the government-linked corporation has engaged lawyers to consider its options against Jontih.

The firm and Jontih are linked to a corruption scandal stemming from a series of videos leaked online.

Earlier this month, the Malaysiakini news portal published four videos that showed a businessman negotiating with a Sabah assemblyman off-screen to support a company’s project proposal in a state.

MACC confirmed yesterday that it was investigating, and that it has called in five Sabah assemblymen for questioning.

Separately, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has set out to remove the videos already circulating online, acting on requests from the Royal Malaysia Police and MACC.

The online regulator reportedly said both items could potentially affect police investigations into alleged death threats made against the person shown in the video and violate his privacy.