KUALA LUMPUR – None of Tenaga Nasional Bhd’s (TNB) staffers were found to be involved in graft after yesterday’s electricity theft crackdown with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
“No TNB employees have been found to have received gifts from members of the syndicate. TNB’s operation with MACC requires being undercover to investigate syndicate activities,” said company president and CEO Datuk Baharin Din in a statement.
He added that there was confusion due to misunderstanding and reporting errors alleging TNB employees were bribed by the bitcoin mining syndicate.
He also said TNB management is grateful to work with MACC in the operation that took more than two years.
The joint operation resulted in the arrest of 18 individuals involved in 7,209 cases since 2018. Of the arrested, one of them reportedly rented 500 shophouses for illegal bitcoin mining activities.
MACC also froze 126 bank accounts worth RM4.47 million involving 97 individuals and 29 companies. Of the 18 arrested, one of them had 500 units of shop houses rented for illegal bitcoin mining activities.
TNB also reported losses since 2018 from bitcoin miners amounting to nearly RM2.3 billion.
MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki had in a press conference on Tuesday said the syndicate involved in bitcoin mining would try to bribe TNB technicians during routine checks.
“They would offer a monthly payment or through cryptocurrency. For example, the value of a bribe is RM500 per premise.
“Investigations so far showed that the network offered between RM3,000 and RM300,000 to technicians to keep mum over the mining ops, with a total of RM2.38 million given out,” he said in a statement. – The Vibes, March 3, 2022
