The investigations found cases of mismanagement, criminal breach of trust, procedures that were not followed and leaks of confidential information- KUALA LUMPUR: There were two separate probes done within Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) last year following complaints of how contracts were awarded- Sources said one investigation was done by forensic auditor Ernst & Young (EY) from September 2010 until March this year- The other was done by the board of IIB, the main property developer for Iskandar Malaysia- "The findings were more or less the same," one of the sources said- These were told to IIB staff during a townhall session on April 4- The investigations found cases of mismanagement, criminal breach of trust, procedures that were not followed and leaks of confidential information- They have also led to the board filing a police report against its former senior managers on April 4- The board said the EY probe showed fiduciary lapses and highlighted the need to strengthen key controls- IIB, 60 per cent owned by Khazanah Nasional Bhd, is responsible for developing projects that would transform Iskandar Malaysia, the country's special economic zone in Johor- Other shareholders include the Employees Provident Fund and the Johor state government with an equal 20 per cent stake each- Over the last two years, IIB would have awarded contracts to build infrastructure like roads valued at about RM1 billion a year- It was reported in June 2010 that Iskandar Malaysia would have attracted some RM70 billion worth of total investments from local and foreign investors- These would include projects like the Legoland theme park, various foreign universities and corporate offices- Sources said IIB's probe involved the company taking possession of handphones and laptops of some executives- This led to domestic inquiries where some 10 people were called, including former chief executive officer Arlida Ariff- Arlida, who now works as managing director of Karambunai Integrated Resort City, a project under Sabah-based Karambunai Corp Bhd, did not return numerous calls for comment- ...
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