Malaysia’s US$47 million investment in Indonesian start-up revealed as fraud

In a parliamentary written reply dated July 15, the ministry explained that KWAP’s July 2023 investment followed a robust evaluation and governance process. This included internal assessments, independent due diligence and the verification of financial statements by certified international auditors.

KWAP invested alongside a consortium of reputable international institutional investors, including Singapore’s Temasek, SoftBank, 42XFund and Northstar, all of which conducted their own rigorous reviews.

Despite these comprehensive safeguards, the start-up’s management successfully executed a well-planned fraud by manipulating its financial reports.

The consortium has since lodged reports with the relevant authorities and initiated legal action to recover the funds.