The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) today reported that six members were convicted by the courts during the first quarter of 2014 (January - March 2014) for fraudulent housing withdrawals.

The six were convicted under Section 59 of the EPF Act 1991 and fined a total of RM13,000 by the courts. The fines imposed on each offender ranged between RM500 and RM3,000. The members face a jail term of up to four months if they fail to pay the fines.

In a statement today, EPF General Manager for Public Relations, Encik Nik Affendi Jaafar said, “As a custodian of members’ retirement savings, the EPF will not tolerate members who present false or fraudulent claims over their EPF savings. We will not hesitate to take legal action against dishonest members.”

During the same period, a total of four court summons have also been filed against members for fraudulent withdrawals.

Fraudulent withdrawal, which involves the submission of falsified documents by members to facilitate the approval of withdrawal from their own EPF accounts, is an offence under the EPF Act 1991. Under the Act, members found guilty of fraudulent withdrawal are liable to a maximum jail sentence of three years or RM10,000 fine, or both.

Members who return the amount illegally withdrawn within six months from the conviction date will only be allowed to apply for the same withdrawal two years from the date the amount is returned.

“The EPF will closely monitor these members. Those who fail to return the amount after six months of the conviction date will ultimately lose their right to make the particular withdrawal forever,” Nik Affendi said, adding that the EPF has a comprehensive system in place to detect and identify members who have made fraudulent withdrawals even after the savings have been successfully withdrawn.

Nik Affendi also warned members, particularly those in financial distress, to be wary of syndicates advertised on several websites that offer services to assist members withdraw their EPF savings. The EPF, he reminded, did not appoint or endorse any third party to facilitate members’ application for withdrawals.

“Eligible members who wish to make any withdrawals from their EPF account should deal directly with the EPF as we do not charge members a single sen for the service,” he stated.

Members are urged to support the EPF in its efforts to combat fraud.  Members can report any instances of fraudulent withdrawal or attempts to cheat members into making fraudulent withdrawal by calling the EPF’s Anti-Fraud Hotline at 03-2616 2121 during working hours from Monday to Friday.

Date: 21 April 2014