Report: Daim probe lands property mogul, ex-GLC boss in MACC's crosshairs

 

The MACC probe on Daim Zainuddin has landed two major corporate figures in the graftbuster's crosshairs, according to reports.

Singapore's CNA reported that one of those being probed was Akbar Khan, a local high-end property mogul who hails from Singapore.

Like Daim, the 83-year-old businessperson has only been ordered by the MACC to declare his assets and his family's financial holdings.

Akbar is the majority shareholder and chairperson of BRDB Developments Sdn Bhd, which is a high-end property developer that also has projects in Australia, London and Pakistan.

FMT cited MACC’s anti-money laundering division director Zamri Zainul Abidin as confirming that a Singaporean businessperson was being probed and ordered to declare his assets.

‘No comments’

Akbar, through his spokesperson, declined to comment when contacted by CNA.

“As this is an ongoing matter, we refrain from commenting on specific details. Our primary focus remains on ensuring a fair investigation,” the spokesperson said.

Akbar reportedly became friends with Daim in the late 1980s.

The MACC is reportedly looking into the alleged repatriation of frozen shares valued at US$4 billion (RM18.8 billion) once listed in the Central Limit Order Book (CLOB), a now-defunct over-the-counter market in Singapore that traded in Malaysian shares.

They are also reportedly investigating a change in shareholding at conglomerate Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd (MPHB) in the late 1990s.

MACC is reportedly also looking into an MPHB unit’s US$140 million (RM656 million) loan to British Virgin Islands entities, which were used to acquire controlling blocks of MPHB shares.

Meanwhile, the CNA report alleged that days before the MACC grilled Akbar, the graftbuster had also grilled a prominent former GLC boss.

The probe was reportedly over a government plan touted by Daim to bail out the company in early 2000.

Daim Zainuddin

The former GLC boss is said to have been a protege of Daim.

Separately, the CNA report also alleged that the MACC probe on the former finance minister had led them to investigate Halim Saad.

This is believed to be in reference to allegations that the MACC had questioned both Halim and Daim over the Renong deal.

Halim, however, denied this.

Also being probed is a tycoon associated with the concession for the government's fleet of vehicles. - Mkini