Mulia Property Development Sdn Bhd, which manages the Exchange 106 tower, maintained that Indonesian convict Djoko Tjandra is no longer involved in the iconic skyscraper which is part of the Tun Razak Exchange development and the country's third-tallest building.
Djoko, who also goes by the name Joe Chan, is a founder of the Mulia Group of Companies and is presently serving a jail sentence in Indonesia for bribing the police and prosecutors.
"The Management of Exchange 106 clarifies that Mr Joe Chan is no longer involved in the Exchange 106 in any form and is not its shareholder nor director.
"His legal issues were personal in nature in Indonesia and not related to Exchange 106," the firm said in a statement.
The company was responding to an article by Damansara MP Tony Pua who disclosed the events involving Mulia and Exchange 106 when he acted as the political secretary to the finance minister in 2019.
Pua said the Finance Ministry under the Pakatan Harapan government at the time had conducted a due diligence exercise on Mulia which owned the project.
The project was given an RM1.8 billion government loan in 2016 by then prime minister Najib Abdul Razak after the developer was unable to secure funding amid the 1MDB scandal.
Pua said Djoko was furious about needing to undergo due diligence with Harapan in 2018 after being previously given "royal treatment" by Najib's administration.
Djoko was said to have later secured a meeting with then Harapan prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to complain about Pua.
The DAP lawmaker disclosed these events after Mahathir, in his latest memoir, accused Pua of "threatening" the developer.
Pua was unapologetic, stating that he was proud to protect taxpayer funds and ensure they were not shortchanged.
Mulia, in the statement today, confirmed due diligence was conducted and eventually resolved.
"In 2018, when a due diligence exercise was conducted on the Exchange 106, the project was still under construction, and regulatory compliances were still proceeding as works-in-progress.
"The management had cooperated well with the due diligence exercises carried out and all matters had been finally adequately clarified and resolved.
"The Management of the Exchange 106 also wishes to express its appreciation to the government who had been very supportive and instrumental to the successful completion and commissioning of the Exchange 106 by end-2019 in accordance with all regulatory requirements, laws and regulations," it said.
Djoko was last month sentenced by the Indonesian Supreme Court to four years and six months in jail for bribing Indonesian officials to remove him from the Interpol red notice list.
Djoko had allegedly plotted his escape from justice at Exchange 106.
He had been on the run for 11 years for embezzlement and only faced justice after Malaysia in July 2020 extradited him to Indonesia. - Mkini
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