The finance ministry said pension fund KWAP lost the money to eFishery despite rigorous due diligence
1-MIN READ1-MIN ListenThe StarPublished: 3:52pm, 16 Jul 2026The Retirement Fund Incorporated’s (KWAP) US$47.7 million investment in Indonesian agritech start-up eFishery was the victim of an orchestrated fraud, Malaysia’s finance ministry has confirmed.In a parliamentary written reply dated July 15, the ministry explained that KWAP’s July 2023 investment followed a robust evaluation and governance process. This included internal assessments, independent due diligence and the verification of financial statements by certified international auditors.
KWAP invested alongside a consortium of reputable international institutional investors, including Singapore’s Temasek, SoftBank, 42XFund and Northstar, all of which conducted their own rigorous reviews.
Despite these comprehensive safeguards, the start-up’s management successfully executed a well-planned fraud by manipulating its financial reports.
The consortium has since lodged reports with the relevant authorities and initiated legal action to recover the funds.
