US Charges Telekom Malaysia Executives Over $20 Million Fraud Scheme

The United States has charged three senior employees of Telekom Malaysia over an alleged scheme to misappropriate more than $20 million from the Malaysian state telecommunications firm, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Authorities accused Mohd Hafiz Lockman, Mohd Yuzaimi Yusof, and Khanh Thuong Nguyen, who held senior roles at TM’s U.S. subsidiary, of using forged records and false statements to siphon company funds between July 2020 and February 2026.

Alleged Scheme Spanned Several Years

According to U.S. prosecutors, the three executives deceived suppliers, counterparties, auditors and supervisors in the United States through falsified corporate documentation and fraudulent transactions.

“These three individuals are alleged to have conducted a deliberate and calculated embezzlement scheme, falsifying corporate records for their own financial benefit,” FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said in a statement.

Mohd Hafiz was arrested at San Francisco International Airport. Meanwhile, Mohd Yuzaimi and Nguyen surrendered to authorities last month. Prosecutors charged the trio with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The accused could not immediately be reached for comment. TM also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutors Detail False Sales And Inflated Costs

The U.S. indictment alleged that the defendants diverted millions of dollars from TM into bank accounts under their control.

On one occasion, prosecutors said TM approved a sale of eight terabytes of network capacity to a U.S. multinational company for $54 million. However, investigators alleged that the customer only purchased six terabytes.

Authorities claimed the defendants then sold the excess capacity to other firms and channelled proceeds from those sales through a sham company.

In addition, prosecutors accused the executives of inflating cable purchase costs and redirecting nearly $2.9 million in payments into controlled bank accounts.

The DOJ also alleged that the group submitted fabricated work expenses to secure fraudulent reimbursements from the company.

AI-Assisted Impersonation Allegedly Used

Investigators further alleged that the defendants impersonated employees and interns in order to collect salaries linked to those identities.

According to the DOJ, the scheme also involved the use of an AI-assisted imposter during an interaction with human resources staff.

Separately, the Justice Department said it declined to file charges against TM itself after the company self-reported the misconduct and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the DOJ was introducing a policy designed to encourage companies to disclose criminal misconduct voluntarily in exchange for reduced penalties and other incentives.

With inputs from Reuters