BOMBSHELL – THIS IS HOW MIC TREATED POOR INDIANS: VELL PAARI, TYCOON G GNANALINGAM – AND PERHAPS LATER ON TONY FERNANDES’ TUNE INSURANCE – FEEL THE HEAT AS MACC RAIDS MAIKA HOLDINGS & ITS COMPANY SECRETARY

ANTI-GRAFT officers yesterday raided the offices of Maika Holdings and its company secretary, taking away documents as part of its investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power, said sources.

The Malaysian Insight learnt that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) teams raided the Maika Holdings office in Klang and its company secterary’s office in Brickfields.

“MACC raided both offices at around 12pm yesterday. The officers were there for a few hours and left with some documents,” a source said.

Another source said MACC will conduct more raids and have lined up several people for questioning.

Yesterday’s raids came about after MACC received documents on alleged corruption and abuse of power in Maika from a whistleblower in March.

The documents, which were sighted by The Malaysian Insight, detailed alleged dubious transactions that were made between 2000 and 2007.

Sources also said MACC was instructed to act against Maika following an exposé by Sarawak Report late February.

Sarawak Report alleged that Maika had passed millions of ringgit in cash and other forms of payments to companies linked to its former chief executive Vell Paari.

It reported that new documents from Maika’s liquidation proceedings suggested Vell Paari took millions from the fund in the years leading up to its collapse, with the money mostly diverted into several companies connected to the MIC leader.

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Vell Paari, who is now MIC secretary-general, had denied any wrongdoing, saying that payments remitted to him when he was the fund’s chief executive were mere refunds as Maika had owed him money.

He also said Sarawak Report’s article on the matter was published after an attempt to blackmail him had failed.

Vell Paari, the son of former MIC strongman S Samy Vellu, said he was contacted by two parties, with one demanding RM3.5 million to stop the articlefrom being published on Sarawak Report.

Maika was initiated by Samy Vellu in the 1980s as an investment vehicle, with a focus on the Indian community.

It raised RM106 million from some 66,400 shareholders – 70% of whom were low income earners – for its investment activities, but its profits were allegedly channelled elsewhere.

In 2013, G Team Resources & Holding Sdn Bhd, led by tycoon G Gnanalingam and S Kunasingam, took over Maika.

In 2015, G Team agreed to reimburse Maika shareholders who had yet to surrender their shares.

MIC leaders told The Malaysian Insight that they have no say in Maika since the takeover, with the company moved out from MIC headquarters to Klang.

Maika is presently in the process of undergoing a liquidation process.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT