PETALING JAYA: Felda lodged a police report yesterday claiming it was cheated by Najib Razak into investing US$505 million (RM2.3 billion) in an Indonesian plantation firm owned by a friend of the former prime minister, The Edge Markets reports.
Felda director-general Othman Omar was quoted as saying that the amount paid to acquire a 37% stake in Eagle High Plantations TBK (EHP) was 344% more than its actual value of US$114 million.
EHP is part of the Rajawali Group owned by Peter Sondakh, who is said to be close to Najib.
Othman said Felda took a RM4.8 billion loan to finance the deal from GovCo Holdings Bhd (GovCo), a subsidiary of the finance ministry then headed by Najib.
“As a result of the purchase at RM2.3 billion by Felda, it suffered losses when the value of purchase is now just RM555 million as of last month,” The Edge quoted from the contents of Othman’s police report filed yesterday.
He said Najib had in 2015 directed Felda through its special purpose vehicle FIC Properties Sdn Bhd to invest in EHP, after earlier approaching Felda’s FGV Bhd as well as the Malaysian Plantation Oil Board (MPOB) and Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB).
Othman said the deal, signed by then-Felda chairman Isa Samad, was “one-sided” and “risky”, adding that EHP had debts of US$547.4 million in 2014 and liabilities of US$676.9 million in 2016.
He said the company also had no sustainable palm-oil accreditation, and would not be able to achieve Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification “even after 10 years”.
Felda defended the deal two years ago, saying it needed “a strong local partner to materialise its business plan to expand in Indonesia”.
“As Rajawali Group is among the largest conglomerates in Indonesia, it is a much sought-after partner not only in the plantation sector but also other related businesses,” it had said.
It was reported earlier this year that Felda was seeking to dispose of its stakes in EHP. - FMT
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