Published on April 4th, 2024 | by Sounder Rajen

MACC Charged ‘Casio King’ Robert Tan Over RM4.5b Spanco Deal

The MACC has been very busy lately and the Casio King is their newest conquest

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has obtained permission from the Attorney General’s Chambers to charge Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon, widely known as ‘Casio King,’ at the Sessions Court on Wednesday, in relation to the RM4.5 billion government fleet project involving Spanco Sdn Bhd.

Tan’s name was listed on the Sessions Court’s registry, while the MACC notified that a corporate figure was set to be charged without providing details. When contacted by The Edge, MACC’s prosecution head Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin confirmed the matter and confirmed that the subject was Tan.

Moreover, it is not known what Tan was charged with, but he was slated to be charged in one of KL’s specialised Sessions Court that hears corruption cases. Now we know that the MACC has been very busy nabbing many wrongdoers but when it comes to high profile cases like this, it is very hard to truly nail the perpetrator, so let’s see if the charges stick.

Last month, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki was quoted as saying that the anti-graft body would call up all key decision-makers involved in the awarding of a government contract to Spanco in the 1990s, including a former prime minister and finance minister.

“We will call up anyone who made the decision at the time, who decided to award the project to Spanco.” Azam was quoted to have said. On 22 February 2024, Azam said the MACC had already recorded the statement of a former finance minister with regards to the deal so this should give the MACC some ammo to hold the Casio King with.

On top of that, it was reported in January that MACC had raided the home of a corporate figure and seized personal and company accounts under his control, but the said assets have not been frozen. News reports did not reveal the name of the individual, but said that the individual is a major shareholder of Spanco.

Tan, known as ‘Casio King,’ is the first and only distributor of the brand’s watches and calculators in Malaysia. A company search via SSM data reveals Spanco’s shareholders are Jati Rata Sdn Bhd (46 percent), Tan (24.65 percent), Datuk Seri Tan Han Chuan (14.67 percent), Datin Tan Ching Ching (9.68 percent) and Minhat Mion (5 percent).