Mara’s third Aussie property buy a CBT case, says NOW

NGO says the acquisition was at the expense of the government-owned agency which had to fork out much more than it should have for the property.

KUALA LUMPUR: The National Oversight and Whistleblowers (NOW), an NGO headed by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, has charged that there are definitely elements of “criminal breach of trust” in the series of property acquisitions by Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) in Australia.

Briefly, these acquisitions were at the expense of the government-owned agency which had to fork out much more than it should have had for the said properties. The difference, it said, was the CBT element.

NOW director Akmal Nasir, filling in for Rafizi, urged Police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to fast track investigations in line with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s assurances on a complete and thorough investigation, instead of beating around the bush.

Akmal also urged Mara Chairman Annuar Musa to explain the agency’s system of acquisitions as well as reveal who was behind third party companies dealing with Mara on property acquisitions.

“The public has the right to know what happened to RM66.2 million of the people’s money that was supposed to be used for advancement of Malays and Orang Asal through education and small entrepreneurship,” he said.

Akmal was citing Mara’s purchase of 51 Queen Street as the third case of CBT.

“From all the transactions that transpired, it was obvious that the modus operandi was the same as that used in the case of Dudley (International) House and 333 Exhibition Street, two other properties acquired by Mara,” said Akmal. “Funds were channeled out using a third party.”

The Quintessential Group of Companies (QGC), he said, originally acquired the property 51 Queen Street for AUD8.2 million in 2010 before carrying out upgrades to it and reselling it to another company three years later sometime early in 2013 for AUD16.65 million, according to the company’s website and unofficial sources.

In March 2013, Mara Inc purchased the property for AUD22 million i.e. AUD5.35 million (RM18 million) more than what the third party company paid for mere months earlier, alleged Akmal.

Mara apparently did not follow its own procedures when spending RM374.3 million on four properties in Australia.

746 Swanston Street property at RM138.6 million was the most expensive buy, followed by 333 Exhibition Street at about RM100 million and 51 Queens Street at RM70.4 million. Dudley International House was the cheapest at RM65.3 million.

Annuar had earlier claimed that the government agency’s property purchases followed procedures.

Minister of Rural and Regional Development Shafie Apdal, whose ministry has oversight on Mara, made a similar statement which reportedly led the police to close the file on the matter.

It was not immediately clear whether the MACC has likewise closed its file on the Mara property buys in Australia.