KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 9): Brothers Datuk Seri Nazir Hussin Akhtar Hussin and Datuk Wira Mubarak Hussain Akhtar Husin have voluntarily gone on garden leave from their executive roles at Avangaad Bhd (KL:AVANGAAD) amid an investigation into their personal business interests.
Nazir, who is also an executive director at Kinergy Advancement Bhd (KL:KINERGY), has separately gone on garden leave at the energy and engineering group.
Neither company specified the nature of the investigation but referred to media reports on the investigations.
Two brothers holding the titles of Datuk Seri and Datuk Wira were recently in the news for being released on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission bail after five days in remand over alleged abuse of power and irregularities involving an investment of about RM10 million.
Both companies said the investigation involved business activities unrelated to their operations and that they had not been informed of any findings of wrongdoing involving the directors.
The garden leave took effect on Thursday (Oct 8) as a precautionary measure, not a disciplinary action or indication of wrongdoing.
Kinergy said Nazir would step away from its operations and board deliberations relating to the matter, under the oversight of its independent directors. At Avangaad, both brothers will be relieved of their executive duties and recused from related deliberations.
Both companies said operations would continue uninterrupted under their respective management teams.
Avangaad’s firm order book stood at RM153.7 million as at June 30, 2026, with another RM262.1 million in optional contract extensions, bringing the combined potential value to RM415.8 million.
The companies said they would continue monitoring developments while respecting the directors’ rights and the presumption of innocence.
Mubarak owns a 51% indirect stake in Avangaad through his shareholdings in Voultier Sdn Bhd. Voultier is its largest shareholder. Nazir does not own any interest in the company. Nazir is not a shareholder of Kinergy.
Kinergy’s shares were unchanged on Friday at 39.5 sen, valuing the company at RM863.1 million. Avangaad was also unchanged at 29.5 sen a share, valuing the company at RM391.2 million.