KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) should look into possible tax evasion involving the Tabung Haji group and its subsidiaries as investigations intensify following the findings of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) for the 2014-2020 period.
The advisor to the Enforcement Focus Group at the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) Prof Datuk Mazlan Ahmad said a comprehensive investigation should also be supported by forensic accounting to trace the flow of funds, including their origin, destination and beneficiaries.
“I believe certainly whether the group or the subsidiary commercial sector, they are doing some tax evasion. Therefore, IRB must look into this,” he said in an interview on The Nation programme aired by Bernama TV.
Mazlan also called for a thorough examination of possible money laundering, noting that tracing suspicious transactions would assist enforcement authorities in identifying the parties involved and determining if criminal offences were committed.
He stressed that the investigation should not be limited to individuals at the management or board level but must scrutinise the entire ecosystem surrounding the institution and its transactions.
“The issue now, very importantly, is to make sure we have the best forensic accounting to really follow the money...where it comes from, where it goes and who benefited from all these schemes. I would say, to sum up, it looks like systemic risk. It is not a one-man show,” he said.
Mazlan noted that the RCI report findings should serve as a springboard for deeper investigation rather than the end of the process, stressing that enforcement agencies must now determine if surface issues point to specific criminal acts and identify those responsible.
He added one of the fundamental problems highlighted by the RCI was a lack of governance, particularly at board level.
As a chartered accountant and council member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), he said the board of directors had a fiduciary duty to provide proper oversight, checks and balances and direction for the organisation.
“The board of directors is accountable for whatever is done by the management. They must perform their fiduciary duty and provide checks and balances,” he said.
The RCI report, which was published on July 29, revealed various important findings related to the management and governance of the institution for the period 2014 to 2020.
A special sitting of the Dewan Rakyat will be held on August 11 to debate the report. — Bernama
