A SUBSIDIARY of food and beverage manufacturer Food Empire has filed a police report in Malaysia after it discovered that a junior staff had made false claims for cash advances.

Besides lodging a police report, the subsidiary, Food Excellence Specialist, has also engaged a lawyer for legal assistance, the company said in a bourse filing on Friday (Feb 9).

The transactions involving false claims for cash advances were made on Jan 30, and the employee involved has been suspended while investigations are underway.

Food Empire is also working with its external and internal auditors on a review of the subsidiary’s internal control processes and compliance. 

“Based on preliminary investigations, the group does not expect the falsified transactions to have any material impact on the consolidated financial results of the group for the current financial year,” it said.

It added that it has established internal control systems in place, and believes that these are intact and adequate.

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However, no internal control can provide absolute assurance against human acts of non-compliance, the company said.

The business and operations of Food Excellence Specialist have not been affected by the investigations, and will continue as normal.

Shares of Food Empire fell 0.7 per cent or S$0.01 to close at S$1.39 on Friday.