Hero to zero
Fusionex sinks under a scandal, leaving a mess in its wake.
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Today’s all about the controversies surrounding data analytics firm Fusionex.
This one has a public interest angle as the fate of the digital platform used by the Malaysian customs hangs in a balance.
A 📚 chunky Wednesday read. Sections and subheadings below:
Background
“Office of Superheros”
To Jack and the world
Tensions between Hitachi and Fusionex
Stonewalled
Findings from the liquidators’ April report
Compensation, unaccounted money, unresponsive clients
Unplugging the DFTZ
Conclusion
Crash and burn
Fusionex was touted to be Malaysia’s tech darling. This was a data analytics firm that in its heyday boasted an A-list rolodex of multinational clients.
Its founder, Ivan Teh, was named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014.
The company also pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of completing a key component of the Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) in record time.
Even government agencies such as the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) leaned on Fusionex to sponsor one of its key events.
Everything, however, came crashing last year. Fusionex’s parent, Japanese conglomerate Hitachi, applied to wind-up the company.
Hitachi alleged misconduct from Teh and his team.
The court would go on to appoint liquidators who themselves found a string of discrepancies in Fusionex.
But some of Teh’s business associates who control at least one key Fusionex subsidiary — the unit that manages the DFTZ —are retaliating.
They are purportedly threatening to pull the plug on the DFTZ, a project of national interest.
How did this mess happen? We’ll need to go back to 2005, when Fusionex was incorporated.