Updated
Updated · South China Morning Post · Jul 16
KWAP Loses $47 Million to eFishery Fraud Despite 2023 Due Diligence
Updated
Updated · South China Morning Post · Jul 16

KWAP Loses $47 Million to eFishery Fraud Despite 2023 Due Diligence

1 articles · Updated · South China Morning Post · Jul 16

Summary

  • $47 million of Malaysia pension fund KWAP's investment in Indonesian start-up eFishery was lost after the company was revealed to be a fraud, the finance ministry said in a July 15 parliamentary reply.
  • July 2023 investment approval followed internal assessments, independent due diligence and financial-statement checks by certified international auditors, but eFishery's management manipulated reports and evaded those safeguards.
  • Temasek, SoftBank, 42XFund and Northstar joined the same investment consortium and also conducted their own reviews before backing the start-up.
  • The consortium has since filed reports with relevant authorities and started legal action to try to recover the funds.

Insights

With the CEO jailed, can investors recover the millions lost in the eFishery scandal?
Is any ASEAN tech investment truly safe after this massive, sophisticated deception?
How did the world's top investors all miss a $300 million startup fraud?