Did Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC), the manager of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, just hire someone tainted by Malaysia’s multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal?
Maharlika said what was published by Malaysia-based investigative website Sarawak Report which quickly circulated on social media recently was ‘false, baseless and damaging.’
The site alleged that Patrick Mahony, a UK-Swiss national reportedly sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scam, had been hired as a consultant by the Philippine wealth fund.
Not so, said the fledgling fund, which has been controversial since inception. It stressed that Mahony ‘has not been and has never been engaged by MIC in any capacity, whether formal or otherwise.’
Critics of the Maharlika fund may recall that the 1MDB fiasco was often cited as a cautionary tale when the idea of creating a Philippine sovereign wealth fund was first floated.
Maharlika, it seems, is eager to make sure no such parallels take root. Ian Nicolas P. Cigaral
Not yet rushing for the exit door but. . .
Investors are treading carefully amid the ongoing probe into alleged anomalies in government projects.
Ferdinand Ferrer, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chair for Science and Technology, said investors are still in a wait-and-see mode.
Although companies are concerned about corruption in the country, Ferrer said they are not pulling the brakes on investments altogether.
‘I won’t say holding off, but they’re really monitoring because the investments that are supposed to come in now have already come,’ Ferrer said on the sidelines of the 51st Philippine Business Conference and Expo in Pasay City.
Given the ‘slight hiccup’ caused by the flood control scandal, which has been extensively covered by local and international media outlets, Ferrer said the Marcos administration must demonstrate that the Philippines can resolve the issue fast and promptly recover from this crisis.
‘Kulong (imprisonment) is the end-game, but there should be really measurable actions now. What is happening, instead, [is a] lot of [it is still] up in the air,’ he added.
With discussions about corruption far from over, the ball is in the Marcos administration’s court to undertake long-lasting structural reforms.