KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 13): The government is still seeking to recover funds from National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC), three years after the High Court ordered the company to make payment over an outstanding loan.
In a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday, the Finance Ministry said the government was still pursuing RM33.74 million from NFC though it did not set a timeline.
The process depends on further legal action and negotiations with other parties, the ministry said.
The reply was in response to a question from Labuan MP Datuk Suhaili Abdul Rahman, who asked what steps the government was taking to recover the outstanding RM250 million from NFC following the High Court’s decision, as well as the timeline and collection mechanisms.
NFC was granted a RM250 million loan by the federal government in December 2007 to set up and operate a cattle feedlot centre in Gemas, Negeri Sembilan.
However, it came to light that the company had diverted the funds into investments in high-end properties.
The government subsequently filed a civil suit on May 31, 2019 against NFC, its chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail and nine others, alleging the misappropriation of RM118 million from the loan.
The government sought to recover RM253.62 million, including accrued annual interest of 2% from May 1, 2019.
Salleh is the husband of former women, family and community development minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil.
In October 2023, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered NFC to pay the government RM33.74 million, while ruling that the government was entitled to RM86.9 million seized from the defendants and held by the Accountant General.
The court also ruled that the government was the beneficial owner of several properties, including three lots in Gemas, two parcels of land in Putrajaya and two units at One Menerung Residences in Bangsar.
The government was also allowed to pursue equitable title to properties bought using loan funds held in trust, including two units at Marina Bay Suites and a property at Orchard Scotts in Singapore.
However, the court also allowed the counterclaim by Salleh, NFC and the other defendants, finding that the government had breached the implementation agreement by unlawfully terminating it.
The court awarded the defendants nominal damages of RM10,000.
The government was also ordered to pay RM15,000 in costs to the defendants.
According to the Finance Ministry, the government had recovered RM86.9 million from the defendants and terminated the National Feedlot Project following the High Court’s decision.
The government has also obtained forfeiture of most of the properties involved, while proceedings to forfeit the remaining properties are ongoing, it said.