Deepak Jaikishan back in the limelight

Property and carpet dealer Deepak Jaikishan first gained infamy after being linked to the 2006 murder scandal of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

Private investigator P. Balasubramaniam or "PI Bala" had alleged in late 2009 that Deepak (pic) and Mohammad Nazim Razak, the younger brother of Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had forced him to withdraw his first sworn testimony linking the prime minister to the murder of Altantuya.

In his first statutory declaration (SD), Balasubramaniam had made claims against top federal government personalities on Altantuya's murder.

But he retracted the SD the following day and signed a new one in which the names of these personalities were omitted. Finding himself in an even deeper tangle, he was forced to flee the country.

A year later, in 2009, the private investigator reappeared in the limelight when he said that the second SD had been signed under duress and prepared without his knowledge.

Deepak, 42, was back in the limelight last year when he had admitted that he helped to get Balasubramaniam to repudiate his earlier statutory declaration on the murder, including finding two lawyers to draft a new statement.

In an interview with PAS organ Harakah, Deepak alleged that Tan Sri Cecil Abraham was one of the lawyers.

This triggered a chain of events that led to an investigation by the Bar Council on whether there was professional misconduct on the part of Abraham in the drafting of the second SD.

However, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had dismissed Deepak's allegations as untrue and described the controversial businessman as "not a credible person", prompting Deepak to file a defamation suit against the premier.

Deepak had also lobbied accusations against Najib and his family as well as other leaders.

Two years ago, he declared he would file an RM3 billion lawsuit against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Putrajaya in a bid to reclaim losses suffered from a series of business projects that had soured.

A few months earlier, he had sued Umno's Senator Datuk Raja Ropiaah Abdullah’s firm, Awan Megah (M) Sdn Bhd, which he had accused of cheating him out of millions of ringgit in a land deal in Bukit Raja, Selangor.

Deepak’s company, Astacanggih Sdn Bhd had agreed to buy three parcels of land in 2007 for RM13 million and an RM72 million bank guarantee for a land bond from Raja Ropiaah, who was awarded an RM100 million privatisation deal for the development of the defence research centre called Pusat Pengajian Pertahanan Nasional (Puspahanas).

The land was supposed to be placed in a special purpose company called Cebur Megah as government rules do not allow land in privatised projects to be sold by the winning party. The land is still in government hands and the defence project has yet to take off.

However, Deepak withdrew his lawsuit against Putrajaya on the same day Boustead Holdings Bhd reported it had bought an 80% stake in Astacanggih for RM30 million.

Deepak said he had been forced to sell his company to cover the losses incurred in the deal.

“My shareholders and I have sold our shares in Astacanggih for RM30 million which is our actual cost price. RM13 million (for) Raja Ropiah, RM8 million political contribution, RM7 million financial cost, RM2 million legal and miscellaneous cost, as this ultimatum was forced upon us,” Deepak had said in a text message.

The businessman had also authored a 26-page booklet titled “Black Rose 1.0"  which claims to tell the true story behind private investigator P. Balasubramaniam’s second SD.

He also came out with a 47-page book, "Black Rose 2.0: Black Magic Women", that discussed rituals used in the country's administration.

Deepak, who went silent after that, is now back in the limelight after former Bank Rakyat chairman Tan Sri Sabbaruddin Chik fingered Deepak as having used political connections to settle a loan with the bank amounting to RM32 million without any interest calculated due to the intervention of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek.

The board of directors had initially rejected the compromise offered by Deepak to settle his outstanding debt. Deepak had allegedly offered 120 post-dated cheques to be cashed in by the bank over a 10-year period.

According to Sabbaruddin, after the decision was made, Hasan was dissatisfied and refused to sign the letter extending his tenure as Bank Rakyat chairman.

"My term ended on April 8 and Bank Negara had agreed to extend my contract, but Hasan refused to sign it," Sabbaruddin had told The Malaysian Insider.

He also revealed that Hasan had a meeting with Deepak without Bank Rakyat's knowledge in January.

"It was only after that we discovered that the two had met, as cheques for January, February and March had been prepared, waiting to be cashed."

Following Sabbaruddin's allegations, Bank Rakyat in a statement had said that the element of interest did not arise in the Islamic financing mechanism.

"Each financing is a sales and purchase agreement which includes elements of profit and administrative costs such as late payment charges.

"As far as the bank is concerned there is no repayment and financing that is without profit and administrative charges," the bank said.

The bank, however, did not refute Sabbaruddin's allegations.

Deepak and Hasan have yet to respond to Sabbaruddin's claims.