- Malaysia’s anti-corruption body arrested and detained this married couple for investigations on alleged public donations’ misuse
- Young influencer couple denies using public donations for personal purposes
- RM740,000 in nearly 20 bank accounts frozen for MACC’s investigation
KUALA LUMPUR, July 18 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is investigating a married couple who are social media “influencers” for the alleged misuse of public donations, freezing about RM740,000 in 20 bank accounts for the probe.
Here’s a summary of what we know so far, based on news reports and publicly-available information:
Who is this couple?
According to news reports, the husband is aged 30 and the wife is aged 26.
Both have more than one million followers each on the social media platform Instagram, where they described themselves as entrepreneurs. Their personal accounts are linked to a company which sells tudung (headscarf for Muslim women) and books (novels, motivational and “self-healing”).
What are they accused of doing?
The couple are alleged to have misused donations made to the JomDonate fund-raising platform, which were meant for various charitable purposes.
On July 2, the wife used her Instagram account to deny using the donations for their own purposes, or that she took a 20 per cent commission from the funds collected.
Also on the same day, the wife uploaded on her Instagram account a three-page press statement prepared by the wife’s lawyers Rahim, Aidil & Partners. Highlights of what she said via lawyers:
- Her assets were earned, not from misuse of funds or donations. She has a right to profit from her business just like others.
- Denies involvement in scheme to pay influencers a 20 per cent commission for donations on JomDonate, which she claims to have stopped using since 2022.
- Prepared to fully cooperate with investigations, but would take legal action if necessary.
(According to JomDonate’s website, it is a Malaysian platform founded in 2015 for fundraising for charities and those in need.)
On July 2, the husband said he would only be directly involved with non-governmental organisations going forward, and urged the public to channel their aid directly to NGOs instead of through him.
On July 3, the husband used Instagram to say he and his wife had helped to channel aid from the public for charitable causes such as aid for Syria, for the poor in Mecca, and for the Aidil Adha celebration. He also insisted they had the documentation and other evidence to account for all the funds.
What has happened so far?
July 10 — The MACC arrested four people aged between 20 and 30 — the influencer couple and two men — for investigations into the alleged misappropriation of public donations worth millions of ringgit.
July 11 — The Putrajaya Magistrates’ Court allowed the MACC to remand or further detain the four persons for four days for investigations. On July 12, the High Court dismissed the couple’s bid to set aside the remand order on them.
July 14 — The Putrajaya Magistrates’ Court allowed the MACC to further detain the four persons for yet another three days.
The MACC has said the case is being probed under Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, which covers the offence of public body officers using their position for any gratification.
July 15 — MACC was reported to have frozen about 20 bank accounts — belonging to individuals and companies — involving over RM740,000 as part of the investigation.
July 16 — The remand period for the four ended, and they were reportedly released on a bail of RM100,000 each and ordered to report to the MACC office monthly or as required until the end of the investigation.
