Malaysia’s ‘Casio king’ charged as PM Anwar’s corruption probe nets another Mahathir ally

Robert Tan is accused of ‘cheating’ the finance ministry in 2019 into granting his firm Spanco a US$840 million contract to run the government’s fleet of vehicles

The charge makes him the latest businessman to be entangled in PM Anwar Ibrahim’s graft probe that has targeted the relatives and associates of ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad

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The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office in Putrajaya. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:14pm, 3 Apr 2024Updated: 11:54am, 4 Apr 2024

Anti-corruption officials on Wednesday charged a Malaysian tycoon, dubbed the “Casio King”, with making false declarations to win a US$840 million contract to run the government’s fleet of vehicles, making him the latest businessman to be entangled in a graft sweep targeting the relatives and associates of former leader Mahathir Mohamad.

The 98-year-old two-time prime minister has said the widening probe into his allies and family members is a political hit-job steered by incumbent Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to exact revenge on his long-time rival.

Former finance minister and close Mahathir associate, Daim Zainuddin, and his wife Nai’mah Abdul Khalid, were charged in January for failing to declare their assets. Mahathir’s two eldest sons have also been asked to declare their assets accumulated since 1981 – the year Mahathir first took power.

In the latest case, public prosecutors on Wednesday accused prominent businessman Robert Tan Hua Choon of misleading the finance ministry in 2019 into granting his company, Spanco, a supply, repair, maintenance and management contract for the federal government’s vehicle fleet, worth nearly 4 billion ringgit (US$840 million).

In their charge sheet, prosecutors said Tan had allegedly “cheated the finance ministry” by misleadingly claiming his firm had set aside at least 30 per cent equity stake for the country’s Malay majority, which is a general government contract requirement.

The 83-year-old businessman, widely seen as close to Daim, enjoyed a long and lucrative distribution monopoly of Casio watches, earning him the moniker Casio King.

Tan claimed trial. He faces up to 10 years in jail, possible whipping and a fine if found guilty, according to his charge sheet. Spanco reportedly signed a 4.5 billion ringgit deal in 2020 to manage the federal government’s fleet of vehicles over a 15-year period.

Previously, the firm ran a 25-year multibillion ringgit concession starting in 1993 – at the height of Mahathir’s first term as prime minister – to supply and manage the federal government’s vehicle fleet.