NGO wants probe into Mara’s 3 other Australian property buys
The government should probe Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara)’s three other property purchases in Australia if allegations of kickbacks in its purchase of Dudley Intenational House apartments has basis, the National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW) said today.
Its directors Rafizi Ramli and Akmal Nasir, in a joint statement, questioned if Mara, though Mara Inc, had also purchased properties in 746 Swanston Street, 51 Queen Street, and 333 Exhibition Street.
“Did all these four purchases cost RM 244.47 million and were all these transactions conducted at a reasonable rate or at inflated prices?” they asked.
Mara allegedly bought The Dudley at RM13.7 million above the market rate, to allow for kickbacks back home involving a senior Mara official and a local politician.
The deal came to light after an expose by Australian paper The Age yesterday.
The NGO also questioned why one of Mara’s subsidiaries, Thrushcross Land Holding Ltd, which was involved in the property transactions, was registered in the tax-haven British Virgin Islands and not in Malaysia or Australia.
“This raises plenty of suspicions and questions as to how the taxpayers’ money was involved in this scandal,” the statement said.
One of Thrushcross’ directors is Datuk Muhammad Lan Allani, NOW said, pointing out that he is a former Umno assemblyman from Sabah.
“We welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to investigate this property purchase by Mara,” it said.
“If the allegations about the Dudley’s purchase has basis, the PM should order investigations for all the other property purchases by Mara that involves hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money.”
In its exclusive report, the Australian paper alleged that “a group of super-rich Malaysian officials” overpaid by A$4.75 million (RM13.8 million) for an apartment block in the city in 2013.
They allegedly “overbid” for the building, called Dudley International House, from A$17.8 million to A$22.5 million (RM65.3 million), with the difference pocketed as bribes back home.
Australian developers of the property received sham invoices for fake services, such as “consultancy and advisory”, from Malaysian firms, the paper said.
The paper alleged that the same group of high-ranking Malaysians was also involved in about A$80 million worth of Melbourne property, buying up offices and apartment blocks. –June 24, 2015.
