There is a Malay proverb that says that the smarter a squirrel jumps, the sooner it will fall. This is what happened to Mohd Hafiz Lockman, Mohd Yuzaimi Yusof, and Khanh Thuong Nguyen - three former Telekom Malaysia employees who are now being charged by the US Department of Justice for embezzling $20 million (~RM 79.4 million) through TM's US subsidiary.
They are accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and identity theft.
by using false statements, false records, fictitious transactions, and corporate impersonation.
Mohd Hafiz was arrested at San Francisco International Airport on 20 April 2026 while Nguyen and Mohd Yuzaimi surrendered to authorities on 22 and 23 April. The fraud of the three accused was only discovered after TM conducted an internal investigation into its US subsidiary. TM itself reported its findings to US authorities and will not be charged due to its full cooperation.
Each count of wire fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison while the identity theft count carries a 2-year sentence if convicted.
