Tabung Haji executives arrested as RCI corruption probe expands

Malaysia’s anti‑corruption agency (SPRM) has detained the former chief executive officer and chief financial officer of a company owned by Lembaga Tabung Haji following the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report on the fund’s governance. The arrests are part of a wider investigation that also includes a design‑firm director accused of paying RM300,000 in bribes to secure projects worth about RM8 million, and a former plantation‑seed manager suspected of mis‑directing rubber‑seed contracts worth roughly RM8 million. The probe focuses on the purchase of shares in two plantation companies valued at RM370 million and other multi‑million‑ringgit projects.

The RCI’s findings highlight systemic governance weaknesses at Tabung Haji, such as political interference, conflicts of interest in leadership appointments, and ineffective investment structures. Reform advocates argue that the report should trigger stronger safeguards, including barring active politicians from board positions and extending stricter oversight to other government‑linked financial institutions.