In a shocking exposé published yesterday, Australian national daily The Age has unearthed details of a massive potential corruption scandal involving Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara).[1]
An elaborate trail of corruption
According to the report, Mara, through its subsidiary Mara Inc, had in 2013 purchased a five-storey apartment block near Monash University in Caulfield, reportedly worth AUD17.8 million, at a vastly inflated price of AUD22.5 million (RM65 million).
Through an eight-month investigation that traced money flows, court files and corporate records, The Age discovered that the transaction was “part of a global money laundering and bribery scheme engineered by greedy local developers and powerful officials overseas who pocketed AUD4.75 million (RM13.7 million) in bribes on this single deal.”
The Age went on to describe in detail how the property in question, the Dudley House, had been built by an Australian developer and two Malaysian businessmen, named as Dato’ Yusof Gani and Dato’ Ahmad Azizi, and subsequently sold in a “remarkable deal” to Malaysian government agency Mara at AUD22.5 million, a price that included a “massive mark-up” of AUD4.75 million in “kickbacks.”
The Age also cited confidential documents that showed the involvement of Dato’ Ahmad Azizi’s son Erwan Azizi, who reportedly facilitated the elaborate deal, which eventually saw AUD4.75 million in “introduction and consultancy fees” wired to a Singapore shelf company linked to Umno politician and Mara Inc chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Allani and Mara CEO Dato’ Abdul Halim Rahim.
In addition to this transaction, The Age also alleges that other offshore shelf companies had been used by Mara to purchase three other properties in Melbourne, viz. 746 Swanston Street, 51 Queen Street and 333 Exhibition Street, cumulatively worth AUD63.5 million (RM183 million).
MACC must investigate all Mara Inc transactions
The detailed revelation by The Age raises serious allegations of money laundering, corruption and criminal breach of trust on the part of Mara officials, particularly those of its subsidiary Mara Inc, an investment arm set up in March 2008 to carry out investments and commercial activities through property management, investment and development.
The MACC should therefore immediately begin investigations into this scandalous property transaction, as well all business transactions related to Mara Inc, including:
- The allegation of an AUD4.75 million bribe that was the subject of a liquidation proceeding at the Victorian Supreme Court.
- The AUD63.5 million purchase of three other properties in Melbourne which were reportedly transacted through shelf companies.
- Mara Inc’s acquisition of three other properties in the United Kingdom, namely the Ashley London Hotel, Atelier EC1 a service apartment, and Beaumont House, a three-block student hostel.
- All key personnel and directors of Mara Inc who were involved in the transactions, specifically its chairman Datuk Mohammad Lan Alllani and its CEO Dato’ Abdul Halim Rahim.
- All Malaysians named in the Australian investigation, including Erwan Azizi, the “Porsche-loving” son of Dudley House joint-developer Dato’ Ahmad Azizi, who is alleged to have signed some of the paperwork associated with the transaction.
- All offshore shelf companies related to Mara Inc, including the money trail, transactions and related personnel.
Just like 1MDB and many other financial scandals involving the use of public funds, this Mara scandal is proof yet again that something is fundamentally rotten across Malaysian government agencies, especially those entrusted with investing public funds. Unless the MACC acts fervently and decisively, the people’s trust in the Federal Government will continue to erode.