However, he declined to give further details on the company.
“We were offered RM100 million. We felt this was problematic as they were trying to influence the government, so we rejected it,” he told reporters after opening the Anti-Corruption Summit 2018 here.
He said this was the only donation of such a massive amount, adding however that smaller sums had also been rejected.
In his opening speech at the summit, he said his government had been faced with the “tough job” of eradicating corruption and running the country at the same time.
“For that, the government needs money,” he said, noting that members of the public had wanted to chip in as well.
“However, there have been attempts to use donations in order to influence government business.
“These have been rejected by the government because when huge sums of money are given by way of donations to the fund, they become a source of corruption.”
Tabung Harapan was set up about seven months ago to receive donations and contributions from individuals and companies to assist the government in tackling the country’s debt.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has since said the fund will be closed on Dec 31.
Lim said the National Audit Department would be auditing receipt statements and account payments related to the fund to ensure its management was in order.
Lim also said an external audit firm had been appointed to audit the fund’s account, in line with Section 7 of the Audit Act 1957.
“This is because it involves funds contributed by the people to pay the country’s debt which has surpassed RM1 trillion following the 1MDB scandal. The government is committed to continue being transparent with each sen received,” he said.
The accumulated total of the fund as at 3pm yesterday was RM196,322,746.30. This encompassed contributions received from individuals, organisations or bodies as well as interest from fixed deposit accounts administered by the National Audit Department.
Lim also revealed yesterday that a foreign company had wanted to donate RM100 million but said the government rejected the offer as it suspected the motives for the large contribution.
In the press conference today, Mahathir also assured that the government would protect foreign investors who may have been mistreated due to corruption when dealing with government officers.
He also urged the investors to report any wrongdoing they may encounter.
“There have been no reports on that (corruption),” he said. “We are open to investigating if anybody knows about incidents of corruption.
“Tell us. We will protect you and take action against the corrupt officers.”