KUALA LUMPUR (July 22): PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has questioned the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on its lack of action over the alleged misappropriation of a RM400 million loan granted by Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd (BPMB) to Aries Telecoms (M) Bhd.
There is sufficient evidence to charge the perpetrators of the scandal, he said in a statement on Friday (July 22).
Rafizi asked as to why the MACC has not called former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in for questioning, as he was the finance minister when the loan was approved in 2012. He noted that Najib should be called because BPMB answers directly to the finance minister.
The RM400 million loan, which was approved in May 2012, was to partly finance a RM1.3 billion project undertaken by Aries to install a fibre optic network around Peninsular Malaysia.
Rafizi said this case, along with others involving BPMB have been in the public sphere since 2014 and should have been investigated by the MACC.
He said BPMB had to take matters into its own hands by filing a civil suit and freezing the assets of the bank's former president/group managing director Datuk Mohd Zafer Mohd Hashim (who incidentally has been reported to have passed away in London on Thursday) and 26 others involved.
“I am sympathetic towards BPMB as they had to take the civil suit route to get back public funds, because it is clear there is no action from the MACC,” Rafizi said.
“What I find strange is that, upon reading the evidence which was filed by BPMB in its civil suit, I am confident there is more than enough proof for the MACC to take criminal action against the perpetrators under the MACC Act,” he said.
Loans to ABN, Peter Sondakh's firms
Besides the RM400 million loan, Rafizi also highlighted other loans which were given out by BPMB during Najib’s tenure as minister of finance.
This included BPMB’s taking over of Borcos Shipping Sdn Bhd, which involved funds amounting to RM337 million. The company went bankrupt in 2017.
Rafizi also said Najib had approved two other loans, including one worth RM450 million to the Asian Broadcasting Network (ABN) to launch a cable television station to rival Astro.
“ABN is a network owned by Tan Sri Kenneth Eswaran, who is known to be very close to Najib and Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor (Najib’s wife),” he said.
The second loan approved by Najib, according to Rafizi, was worth RM305 million given to Nautical Resort Sdn Bhd and Garuda Suci Sdn Bhd.
He said that both these companies are owned by Tan Sri Peter Sondakh, who is also well acquainted with Najib and Rosmah.
Rafizi said cumulatively, these loans amount to RM1.5 billion.
“All of the public funds worth RM1.5 billion which is lost was approved while Najib was minister of finance,” he said.
He also called for Sondakh and Eswaran, along with Najib to also be investigated for taking public funds.
“The main question is: why until now, Najib as the [former] minister of finance who was the boss of BPMB at that time, is not being investigated by the MACC for these cases when the loans were all given to his close acquaintances?,”
It was reported by The Edge on April 13 last year that the MACC had questioned four individuals regarding the questionable loans dished out.
One of them was Zafer, the others were a former high-ranking executive and shareholder of Borcos Shipping, an individual linked to Aries Telecoms (M) Bhd (formerly known as V Telecoms Bhd), and an executive linked to ABN.
However, since then, the MACC has not taken any further action, noted Rafizi.