MACC to charge several individuals over Mara Aussie property scandal

 

The price of Dudley House in Melbourne, Australia, was said to have been inflated to provide kickbacks to Malaysian officials.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is set to charge several individuals over the Mara property scandal.

In an interview, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the deputy public prosecutor had agreed for those involved to be charged.

The scandal involves Mara’s purchase of a multimillion-dollar apartment complex in Australia in 2013.

“The deputy public prosecutor has agreed to charge several individuals, we are in the midst of arranging it, one individual may be in Sabah under quarantine. We are not protecting anyone,” he said in his interview with MACC.fm.

Last month, Azam said they could only start charging those involved in the scandal after evidence was provided by the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

In July, Australian authorities charged a man, Teen Boon Lye, with bribing a Malaysian official to secure the sale of the building called Dudley House in Melbourne.

According to a report by Sydney Morning Herald, Teen was charged on July 9, some five years after an exposé which revealed the price of the property had been inflated by A$4.75 million (RM14.4 million) to provide kickbacks to a group of Malaysian officials.

The original price for the property was A$17.85 million but it was later sold for A$22.6 million, with A$4.75 million paid or promised to people, including individuals allegedly named Zach Zainal and Erwan Azizi, with the intention of influencing a Malaysian public official to secure the sale of said property. -FMT